Photo of: Amy Mohr with Big Brothers Big Sisters Regina and Area
Photo by: Danielle Dufour
Since 1971 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Regina and Area (BBBSRA), a non-profit organization in Regina, Weyburn and Moose Jaw, has been matching individuals up with young people to help mentor and empower youth to develop social-emotional competence, mental well-being and educational engagement.
BBBSRA is one of the agencies in Saskatchewan that serves over 15 communities. There are 86 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies nationwide that match over 32,000 children with mentors.
“I would say the need for mentors in our mentoring program in Regina and area is significant,” said Amy Mohr, Director of Development and Communications BBBSRA. “We have 70 kids waiting on our wait list right now. Between 70 to 80 per cent are Indigenous kids.”
Mohr said they are specifically in need of male mentors to be matched with children on the wait list.
“Everyone needs a positive influence in their lives,” from the Big Brothers Big Sisters Regina and Area website.
The role of a mentor requires individuals to build a friendship with a child by spending time together, talking, sharing and creating happy memories. A mentor becomes a role model for the child to empower, support and inspire the youth.
“We have specific Indigenous training for mentors who are going to be matched with Indigenous children,” said Mohr.
They also offer cultural activities such as ribbon skirt making, Indigenous cooking classes, language classes and medicine picking. These activities are facilitated with Indigenous groups that have partnered with BBBSRA.
The mentor application process is simple yet intense as Mohr said, “We need to keep our kids safe.”
They will interview mentors, do safety checks and offer training to understand the role of a mentor.
“We want to make sure the volunteers are who they say they are, are able to follow through with the expectations and the rules of the program, and that they can form and maintain a relationship with a young person.”
Mentors and mentees are matched based on common interests and personalities.
“We’re not going to match somebody that hates video games with a kid that only wants to play video games,” said Mohr. “We want to get to know everybody to make the best possible match. It’s meant to be fun for the mentor and the mentee.”
Mohr said youth that are matched in the program have greater self-esteem, self-confidence, make better decisions and have healthier relationships with their family, friends and the community.
“They go on to graduate high school … they tell us they go on to get better jobs … they go on to volunteer more in their community and surround themselves with positive networks which benefits the entire community.”
To apply as a mentor, visit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Regina and Area for more information.