Twelve Brown County children are waiting to be matched with mentors through the Brown County Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and according to Eric Evans, regional executive director, the commitment is not as time consuming as some may believe.
Big Brothers Big Sisters offers community based mentoring and school based mentoring. “With the school-based matches, the ‘big’ is asked to commit to visiting the school of the ‘little’ at least twice a month during their lunch periods,” Evans said. “Even visiting a kid for a total of two hours can make all the difference.”
Community-based mentoring allows for the “big” and “little” to spend time together outside of school hours. “With community-based (mentoring), we ask that potential mentors commit to at least a year, for two or more hours per month” Evans explained. “That kind of commitment allows for continuity and consistency in the life of the ‘little’.”
Currently, there are approximately 40 active matches in Brown County, with a dozen still waiting to be matched. “They are ready to be matched now,” Evans said. “We are ready to make matches, but need more volunteers willing to make that commitment. Some of these kids have been on the waiting list for months.”
Evans said he has an “elevator” story for those who are considering becoming a “big”, which includes BBBS statistics. “I tell them that the kids we serve had a 60% likelihood of dropping out of high school before being matched. When we are able to match them up, that 60% dropout chance becomes a 40% chance that they will graduate college.”
Potential “bigs” undergo a process, which includes a background check and interview. “All of those steps are put in place to ensure the safety of the child,” Evans said. “We have a goal to match the kids with an adult, but we have to be delicate because safety is always of the utmost importance.”
Evans said that in the 110 year existence of BBBS, the number of issues has been minimal, less than once percent. “In Texas, BBBS matches about 9,000 kids per year. That shows that our process is working.”
Upon completion of the initial application, background check and interview, the process begins of matching prospective mentors with children who possess similar interests. “We have local specialists who come from Abilene and Stephenville who take care of that part of the process.”
Once a match has been made and the adult has met with the “little” and that child’s family, all parties involved will receive a monthly call from a match support specialist. “That call allows us to know how everyone involved is doing,” Evans said. “The specialist wants to make sure the match is still beneficial and that nothing negative is going on.”
Many times, children are referred to BBBS from those outside the family, Evans explained. “They will be referred by a teacher, principal or a church worker who tell us they feel they have found a child who would be an excellent candidate for the program. “Statistically, absences by kids in the program drop by 35%,”Evans said. “We also see that the kids are more attentive and that their grades improve as well.”
Information on volunteering and donating, as well as statistics can be found at www.bbbstx.org. “I would really like to encourage everyone to check out the Web site,” Evans said. “There is a lot of good information that shows that what we are doing is working.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters in located in the Family Services Center. For more information, contact the BBBS office at 643-5600 or Evans at 998-2801.
