Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Calgary and Area is looking for mentors in Cochrane, with the greatest need in the male department.
Sandra MacKenzie is the program coordinator for BBBS in Cochrane and said that the shortage in male mentors isn’t a new problem for them.
“I think for men it is harder to get involved, but we certainly find that males that come into our program stay for a long time. So it is just getting them in there,” said MacKenzie.
She also added that she has a long waitlist of young males between the ages of 13 – 17 who are looking for a mentor.
MacKenzie said the mentor’s overall goal is to have fun and be a positive influence on a young person’s life and in return they get a sense of helping someone.
“It allows them to step back and have fun in their life, too,” said MacKenzie. “It turns out that it’s just as an enjoyable a time for them as well, they get to be a kid again.”
According to MacKenzie the time commitment varies depending on the program the mentor is signed up for, but the minimum is one hour a week with a commitment of at least one year.
There are two school-based mentoring programs run by the BBBS in Cochrane. One is a teen mentoring program held out of Manachaban Middle School where younger students meet with a high school student for one hour a week after school. The other is an adult program where a student meets with a big brother or big sister one hour a week during school hours.
The community-based mentoring program allow mentors to get together with a young person and spend time together doing activities in the community.
Finally there is the mPower Youth Mentoring program — adults mentoring high school students and is a time commitment of six to eight hours a month that can be broken up according to their schedules. They also ask mentors in this program to be willing to help the young person explore their options after high school.
MacKenzie explained that applicants who apply to be a mentor are interviewed and then an RCMP and child welfare check are completed. They also ask for three references that have known the applicant for at least two years.
Once they are approved they go through some training and an appropriate match is found based on shared interests, availability and flexibility.
People who are interested can visit bbbscalgary.com or can call MacKenzie at 403-771-4341.
