The Boise Co-op is proud to make Big Brothers Big Sisters of SW Idaho our Shop for Good recipient for January, 2010. We'll donate 4% of our sales on Wednesday, January 13, to this awesome organization!
By Jennifer Dorothea, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Idaho
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Idaho offers a unique opportunity to develop and support one-to-one mentoring friendships that make a measurable impact on the confidence, academic performance, and life choices of the children in our program. The mentoring friendship between a volunteer (Big) and a child (Little) that we facilitate is called a "match." We use that term because we don’t just pair any two people together and call it good. Our professional staff endeavors to create a lasting, impactful relationship between volunteer and child. This requires understanding each individual’s interests, personality, and expectations; it requires matching the elements that create a foundation for friendship. We take the time and care to know which child needs which Big, because for many of our Littles, this match will spark a profound change for the better.
To ensure that each child is benefiting from their match relationship, we regularly communicate with all parties: Big, Little, and parents. Our match support specialists are just that – they specialize in ensuring that the children in our program are truly getting the experience they need and deserve. They do this through having in-depth conversations and administering standardized surveys so that they know the true status of the relationship and can measure its progress. We also offer monthly match activities to provide our Bigs and Littles with a fun, shared experience. Activities have included making gingerbread houses, navigating a corn maze, cheering on the Idaho Stampede, and helping out at the Idaho Foodbank. The goal of each activity is to strengthen the friendship of each match through a positive experience shared together. Match support staff coordinate and manage each activity allowing them to not only further monitor each match’s success but also to provide additional insights and guidance.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Idaho relies on the generous support of the community to make matches possible and to professionally support them throughout their existence. We know there are many causes in our community worthy of support. So we are all the more grateful to those who help us in this foundational effort… to bring a friend into a child’s life. For that’s what it’s really about: Giving a child a friend who will listen to them with a caring ear and a mentoring heart – a friend who is committed to their well being, to their advancement, and to their happiness. The power of friendship is not lost on any of us. All the more powerful is that friendship which gives a child hope for a better future.
Jennifer Dorothea, Director of Development & Marketing for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Idaho, provides a summary of her organization’s unique role in positively impacting children’s lives through professionally-supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships.
