The Big Brothers Big Sisters “Community-Based Program" matches an adult volunteer to a child, between the ages of 6-14. Together they share in everyday activities and simple outings a few hours a month. The “Big" and “Little" may enjoy activities such as baking cookies, raking leaves, going for a bike ride, or shooting hoops. During these special outings, Bigs help cultivate relationships that provide their Little with skills to manage every day challenges. Through simple friendships, Bigs experience the joy of helping their Little discover a world of possibilities and opportunities. A friendship will be built that my change your life and a child's life forever.

• A new relationship with a young person who can benefit from your support and friendship.
• Add fun, challenge and excitement into your life.
• Belong to a nationally recognized premier mentoring organization.
• Learn new skills, leadership, commitment, and gain an appreciation for diversity.
• A chance to give back within your community.
• See the smile on your Littles face everytime you get together.
• Feel like a kid again!

Big Brothers Big Sisters one-to-one mentoring makes a huge difference for the youth it serves. Research consistently demonstrates that Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring helps youth overcome the many challenges they face. Statistics have proven that youth in the Big Brother Big Sisters programs showed improvement in the following areas.

• Self-confidence.
• Ability to express feelings.
• Communication with peers and adults.
• Attitude towards school.
• Decision-making.
• Sense of the future.
• Academic performance.
• Decrease in truancy and alcohol useage.

Littles in the program look forward to spending time with their Big Brother or Sister, for many it is the highlight of their week. This is not surprising to us because we can all remember the person in our life that brought a little magic just by being there.

Big Brothers Big Sisters offers multiple Site Based programs.

The first program is Lunch Buddies. Volunteers are matched with a student to meet during the child's lunch/recess period at the child's school throughout the school year. These programs were designed to reach the child at school and with a relatively low hourly commitment for our volunteers. This volunteer opportunity is perfect for the busy business professional who may have a flexible work environment and does not want to commit to volunteering on weekends or evenings. This program also works well for college students, retirees, stay-at-home individuals or high school volunteers. The adult and youth in the Lunch Buddies program DO NOT have contact outside of the school environment. This program runs during the school year only.

The Lunch Buddies Program matches get together once a week at a school. For your convenience, you choose the school and day that works best with your schedule for volunteering. Once the day/time is selected it will remain the same throughout the school year. During the match's time together (.5 – 1 hour, depending on the site), the Lunch Buddies can eat lunch, do homework, play board games or just hang out. Big Brothers Big Sisters asks that all Lunch Buddies Bigs commit to spending one academic year in their matches.

The second Site Based Program is our Boys and Girls Club/Big Brothers Big Sisters partnership. This program matches a volunteer Big with a child in the Boys and Girls Club program and they meet at the BGC site one afternoon/early evening a week for an hour. The volunteer will pick the day (Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday) and their hour between the hours of 3:45 and 6:00 PM and meet with their Little that day/time every week. This program is great for the college student, the junior or senior in high school, the retired individual and the company employee wanting to volunteer in the community.

The third Site Based Program is our Foster Match. This unique program is currently offered in Jefferson County only. Foster Match is in cooperation with the Youth Advisory Council of the Jefferson County Foster System and matches a volunteer that has aged out of the Foster System with a child currently in the Foster System. They meet every other Wednesday at the Jefferson County Human Service Building for an hour. The volunteer in this program, by design, must come from the Foster System Alumni base. We are reaching out to all former Foster Youth currently.. This is a way for the Foster Match Big to share knowledge and experience and help a child going through the system now.

The fouth Site Based Program has been a pilot program working with youth and adult volunteers over 55 years of age. This is the Inter-generational Match program bringing two generations together to share and enjoy together. In this program the Big and the Little meet once a week. This program is still developing and is taking on various forms. It is going to be one of our great programs and our hope is to share this experience for both the child and the Senior in all of our service areas.

The Site Based Coordinator will contact both the Big and Little regularly to check in with how the match is going. They may stop by the match site, call or email. Though they will contact regularly they will always be available to answer questions, provide guidance, and offer new ideas to the Big, Little or parent at any time.

Site Based Mentoring Programs are available throughout Rock, Walworth & Jefferson Counties. Please contact the office for volunteer opportunities in your area.

We work with schools throughout Dodge, Jefferson, Rock, and Walworth counties.