Big Sister or mentoring programs for 20-something year old?

Question

Are there any mentorship programs for 20-something year old ladies? Particularly any that would pair the 20-something year old with an older lady for advice, career guidance, life tips, etc.?

Are there any national ones?
E.g. for teens there's Big Brother/Big Sisters of America.

Any good national programs?

Answer 1

try contacting human/social services......in your area...also look online for some sites like bigbrother/bigsister or other organizations and see if there is anything in your area...then you can call the number and explain the situation

good luck

Answer 2

Wow Britanny F, you took the words right out of my mouth.......But anyway, The young ladys question is a good one. Maybe you can start a program up by placing the idea at your nearest store....Or better yet, involve your public library to assist you in this. They will let you post something outside in the doorway.....Don't give a real phone number..They can reach you by e-mail...If they have none, they can use a computer at the library to e-mail you with an answer...Hold meetings starting out at the library.........womens community / gathering mentors.

Answer 3

I would suggest you contact your local Social (Human) Services Agency. The company I work for does mentoring services, we get referrals from the county Human Services. That is where I would start. You did not say where you live though.

Answer 4

Good luck. I don't know. I find the best advice you get is from yourself, knowing what is best for you. you can ask everyone in the world, but when it comes right down to it, you know whats best for you.

Answer 5

It really is a big deal to be a Big Brother or a Big Sister.

There are 10,000 children coast-to-coast waiting for someone to be their new best friend. Someone to toss a ball around with, dress up Barbie with, or just spend some quality time together.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada (BBBSC) is a family affair that helps put the broken pieces of a child's life back together. Every pairing of an adult with a child is unique, each relationship tells a different story.

Caledonia residents George Watson and his wife Wendy are in the "Couples For Kids" program. Wendy was a former Big Sister, which inspired her husband to get involved. Together they spend time with 7-year-old Taylor, a Grade 2 fatherless boy. In six months, the Watson's have helped Taylor evolve from shy and introverted to confident and inquisitive. "He's also doing better in school and is making more friends," says George of this win/win relationship.

Though the primary focus in the mentoring relationship is fun and friendship, for 14-year-old Ryan, having Big Brother Vince De Lilla to look up to over the past five years has given him the courage to face each new day with confidence.

"When I first met Ryan, he was shy, quiet and kept to himself a lot at school," says De Lilla. "Now he's blossomed into a young man who expresses his opinions and laughs out loud. Periodically I'll catch him singing to himself." Ryan is the recipient of an $8,000 scholarship from Big Brothers of Toronto in support of his post-secondary school education.

"The outcomes of our programs are profound," says Bruce MacDonald, president of BBBSC. "Kids who have had a Big Brother or Big Sister are less likely to try drugs or alcohol and go on to graduate from high school at a higher frequency rate than the national average."

One of MacDonald's closest friends, now living in the U.S., was once a little brother. "When he comes home, the first place he goes is to see his mother and the second to visit his big brother. They've become life-long friends." This is one example of how a mentoring relationship continued well beyond the "closing" age of 16.

Volunteers from all walks of life sign up to be Big Brothers or Big Sisters. Many have children of their own, some are now empty nesters. MacDonald says quite a number of young people who get involved are right out of university.

"It's an interesting demographic because the only criteria is that they care about kids," he says. Mentors must be willing to spend three to four hours a week with a child, one-on-one, for a year.

To become a "Big," the enrolment process goes beyond child safety. "It's about making an appropriate match between an adult and child with similar interests," MacDonald says.

In-school mentoring is one of their fastest growing programs whereby local school boards and business communities connect employees with students.

For people with less than four hours a week to spare, this program takes only one hour out of an adult's work week and doesn't take discretionary time away from their families.

"It allows an employee time to leave the office environment, spend time with a child for one hour, and then go back to work in a good mood. It's not rocket science, but it works," MacDonald says.



Mentoring




(Image courtesy of Getty Images)
Currently, Edulinx Canada Corporation has about 40 employees who are in-school mentors and this spring General Motors Acceptance Corporation of Canada, Ltd. (GMAC), Toronto office, hopped on board.

"This fall we're going national and plan to match 30 employees with schools in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Halifax," says Brad Barnes, marketing communications supervisor for GMAC and a Big Brother in the in-school program.

"I'm an only child so, for me, mentoring is a big thing because I never grew up with siblings. It allows me to learn how to be a positive role model. Ideally, both the child and mentor should learn and grow from the relationship."

Universal Studios Canada Inc. is also encouraging and providing staff with an hour off their work week to volunteer. Keith White, Universal's v-p of real estate and facilities, works on the board of BBBS in Barrie and was a Big Brother to two young boys from "father absent" homes for 12 years.

"We went bowling together, to movies, go-carting, mountain biking. Or even something as simple as a walk in the woods," says White. "The idea is not to spend a lot of money, just quality fun times together."

He feels his time was well spent with the boys, now ages 18 and 21, who are happily enjoying life in their jobs and their family relationships. With a Big Brother, he says children are exposed to far more interests and activities that probably expand their future choices, whether in education or career.

"Although we don't in any way try to be a father replacement, the overall goal is to be more of a friend and a mentor," he says.

BBBSC is starting an alumni program and in the next year is looking for people that have been involved in the organization to try to reconnect them to the cause.

"Ten years ago we were serving about 9,500 children and now we help 20,000 kids coast to coast," adds MacDonald. "We've set a growth goal to serve 100,000 kids a year by 2013 -- our 100th anniversary of the first Big Brothers organization in Canada."

To get involved in BBBSC programs, visit Sharealittlemagic.ca or call 1-800-263-9133.

TYPES OF PROGRAMS

BIG BROTHERS and BIG SISTERS: Volunteers (18 years and older) carefully paired with children, ages 6 to 16, to spend 3-4 hours/week together, one-on-one for a one-year period.

IN-SCHOOL MENTORING: A collaborative program between the local school board, business community and BBBSC matching an adult with a child in school.

KIDS 'N' KOPS: A March Break mini-police academy for children where officers volenteer to mentor a group of children.

DIGITAL HEROES: An electronic version of the traditional BBBS program involving one-to-one e-monitoring.

BIG BUNCH: A series of group activities organized and supervised by adult volunteers.

COUPLES FOR KIDS: Couples together for at least one year are matched with a child.

LIFE SKILLS MONITORING: Group mentoring programs for adolescents (ages 11 to 13) involving two weekly sessions led by an adult volunteer.