BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF THE TRIANGLE INC
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Mission Statement
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle's mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. BBBST is a donor-supported volunteer organization that helps children realize their potential and build better futures. There are 40,000 at-risk children in the Triangle area of NC that fall under federal poverty guidelines. We match children with mentors who can be positive role models in the lives of these children, ages 6-14. These matches are one-to-one, providing a unique relationship; someone who cares and can help the child to fulfill his/her full potential. They are at risk to perform poorly in school and become victims of crime and abuse. We serve youth in Durham, Orange and Wake County. By partnering with parents/guardians, volunteers and others in the Triangle community, we are accountable for each child in our program achieving higher aspirations and confidence. We have data to prove that our mentoring helps children increase self-esteem, overcome adversity, improve school behavior and academic performance and avoid risky behaviors, like drug use and truancy.
About This Cause
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle (BBBST) offers two main services: Community-Based and Site-Based Mentoring to children who are typically, but not always, from low-income single parent households. Within our programs 23% of the children have a parent in prison, 75% of the children are living in a single parent home and 75% of the children are on free or reduced lunch. All children ages 6-14 are eligible to participate. We serve Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties, and our services are free to parents and children. Community-based mentoring provides children in need of adult role models with a one-to-one mentor relationship with a volunteer from the community. These volunteers receive extensive screening and training from our Enrollment Specialists and our Match Support Personnel. A careful process is followed to make a quality match between youth and the appropriate volunteer in order to promote long-term relationships. The Community-based “Bigs” routinely provide 8-10 hours a month of quality one-to-one time for each child. This particular program allows us to reach children throughout the county who may otherwise not have access to services. These “Big Brothers and Big Sisters” play an integral role of the lives of their “Littles” by providing a stable adult role model to help guide these children in the right direction. Site-based mentoring provides mentors to children during and after school on their school’s campus. Our partnerships with many local schools allow teachers or key school personnel refer children who may need extra attention to build better social skills or those who may be lacking in a particular area of schoolwork. Although it takes place at schools, our Site-Based Mentoring program isn’t limited to the classroom. Of course, some Littles do talk with their Bigs about class, or do homework, or read together, but it’s perfectly fine to shoot hoops in the gym or play on the playground. At the end of the day, it's really all about starting a friendship, providing guidance, and inspiring them to reach their potential. School-based volunteers are oriented, screened and trained to assist this population of children with the same care and detail as our Community-Based volunteers. Matches in Site-Based programs last for one school year and may continue into the next at the request of the parent, child, teacher, and volunteer. We provide on-going monthly support to each Big Brother Big Sister match. After the initial match process volunteers, parents and children are contacted monthly to ensure the effectiveness of the service delivery model. Staff is also available at any time to provide additional support to each match. We also provide a variety of monthly enrichment activities for “Bigs” and “Littles”. We work with corporate sponsors and local donors to provide opportunities for the matches to attend sporting events, movies, museums, field days, and many other activities. While we continue to focus on education, social development, and reduction of destructive behaviors, we also aim to combat health disparities that the children in our community face. Building Blocks; the Healthy Child Initiative, is a supplement to the traditional mentoring relationship that places an emphasis on healthy development -- targeting physical activity, wellness, and health care by providing on-going activities, education, and access opportunities. Big Brothers Big Sisters also has a program specifically for Mentoring Children of Prisoners (MCP) , our ongoing initiative that matches children who have an incarcerated parent with trusted adult mentors for a one-to-one relationship. Studies from our national office show that these children are 7 times more likely to end up in prison themselves without intervention from BBBS mentoring. We have to provide special training for the mentors who will face additional challenges mentoring a child in this situation. Through training, mentors are given a clear understanding of relationship development, child safety issues and the special needs of these children. MCP practices our Community-Based Mentoring model with mentors and children engaging in a variety of community activities – cultural, recreational and educational. BBBS agencies throughout the nation have a strong track record of serving these youth, helping to keep them in school, improve their academic performance and avoid risky behaviors like using drugs or alcohol, skipping school or joining gangs. These children blossom with the support of their mentors. Our programs give these at-risk youth a real chance in overcoming obstacles and succeeding in life. Littles with a Big Brother or Big Sister are: • 46% less likely to start using drugs • 52% less likely to skip school • 27% less likely to engage in underage drinking • 33% less likely to resolve conflict using violence Also, through surveys, we know the long-term impact of providing these mentors: • 81% of former Littles surveyed agree their Big gave them hope & changed their perspective of what they thought possible. • 83% of former Littles surveyed agree that their Big instilled values and principles that have guided them through life. • 84% of former Littles surveyed agree their experience influenced them in showing understanding to those less fortunate, and said that their Big taught them the importance of helping others. • 85% of former Littles surveyed agree their experience influenced them in overcoming adversity or problems with courage. Our specific agency goals for 2016 are to serve at least 1072 children -- we served 1,068 in 2015 in Wake, Durham and Orange County and to make sure the match relationships last at least 30 months for community based programs and 25 months for site based programs. Research shows that positive outcomes for mentored youth are directly related to the length and strength of the relationships and the longer the match the greater the impact will be on the children's academic performance and social behavior.