Peterborough Bigs In Need of Big Brothers/Sisters; At Least 60 Children In Program Needing Mentors

Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Peterborough (Peterborough Bigs) are dire need of mentors to join their organization as at least 60 to 70 kids involved in the program are without a mentor.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The number of children entering the Bigs program has doubled over the past year according to Brent Shepard, Peterborough Bigs executive director.

“It's an ongoing need,” he explained. “We found that there has been an increase in the number of children requesting to come into our programs and waiting for a mentor.”

Children in the program are entered into a waiting pool and get matched based on what best fits both the mentor and the child.

As a result of the matchmaking system, children can wait from roughly six months to a year before being paired up with a Big.

“Because we want the child's interest to be matched with the volunteer's interest, it can sometimes take longer depending on what volunteers come in,” said Shepard.

Shepard also encouraged potential suitors to join Peterborough Bigs, citing several testimonials from mentors who are getting more than what they bargained for but in a positive way.

“We hear over and over again that someone that wants to mentor with us will come to the program and want to give back to the community,” he explained. “What they always underestimate how powerful of an experience it is for them once they start mentoring. They realize how much impact they make for how little investment they need to make and they'll talk to their friends about how it's a highlight of their month.”

The program allows flexibility for mentors, as they spend, on average, two to four hours a month seeing their ‘little’; however, the time spent can be increased at the request of the ‘big.’

Children in the waiting pool remain active with Peterborough Bigs, with several activities offered.

Activities include sports tickets, event tickets, holiday parties, a children’s camp and more.

Mentors can volunteer online at Peterborough Bigs’s website.

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