All some kids want for Christmas is a big brother or sister – and the area chapter of the national organization is hoping Cochranites will step up as Santas to help fulfill those children’s wishes this year.
“I think every young kid should have a mentor,” said Karli Doucette, 26, who has been a Big Sister to nine-year-old Natonya Fedeyko for a little more than a year.
“Everyone should have someone to look up to.”
About 100 Cochrane children and teens are currently paired with a Big Brother or Big Sister through community and school programs – but there are at least 20 more on the waiting list.
Kids come from a variety of backgrounds and family situations, but the one trait they have in common is a need to connect with someone on a positive and meaningful level, said Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area service delivery manager Jodi McKay.
“A mentor can be that buffering relationship in times of stress in a young person’s life … That’s huge,” she said. “Through the mentoring, you’re allowing a young person to thrive.”
McKay said a mentor’s commitment is at least one year and comes with a series of specific responsibilities. It takes about six months to complete background checks and matching criteria before a big and little sister are officially paired up.
The extensive application process didn’t deter Doucette, since she saw firsthand the benefits of such a partnership in her own home. Growing up, Doucette’s father – a police officer – was a Big Brother. Her father had such a significant impact on his Little Brother’s life that child would go onto a career in law enforcement.
Doucette hopes to have the same type of inspirational relationship with her little sister.
“We have the same similarities … I see a lot of her in me,” Doucette said of Fedeyko, adding they spend a few hours together one to two times a week, doing everything from skating and sledding to paint parties and pancakes at Smitty’s.
“I just love her in general and I feel like she’s my actual sister, we’ve become so close.”
Young Natonya agreed.
“We’re never gonna split up,” she said with a smile.
Anyone interested in the BBBS’s 12 Gifts of Mentoring campaign – which highlights the positive change mentors can make in children’s lives, such as confidence, empowerment and high school completion – or learning more about how to become a Big Brother or Big Sister can go to http://bbbscalgary.ca/mentoring-programs-2/cochrane/ or reach out to the group’s Cochrane office at 403-771-4341.
