The Van Wert County Courthouse

Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

BBBS receives mentoring program grant

ST. MARYS — Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mercer, Auglaize & Van Wert Counties will be able to continue to offer school based mentoring to elementary students in Auglaize County through its School Buddies program, thanks to a grant from Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio. Vectren Energy, presented a foundation check for $1,000 to Abby Balster, executive director of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. The Vectren Foundation grant will support the School Buddies programs in Auglaize County that matches junior and senior high school students with elementary students for mentoring in an after-school setting.

“The after school programs that we conduct have been successful,” Balster said. “Research has proven that mentoring programs, such as ours, have positive measurable results and are viewed favorably by our local schools and community. And it’s because of generous grants from corporate sponsors, such as Vectren, that we are able to impact hundreds of children’s lives.”

National studies indicate that children and youth who meet regularly with their Big Brother or Big Sister mentors are 52 percent less likely to skip school, 46 percent less likely to begin using illegal drugs, and 27 percent less likely to begin using alcohol.

There are 45 mentoring relationships between at-risk children and high school students at Minster Middle School, Wapakoneta Elementary, and St. Marys West Elementary.

“There are numerous children on our waiting list to be matched with mentors,” Balster said. “Together, financial donations and volunteer mentors make our mentoring programs successful. I’m hopeful other companies and individuals can step forward to help these at-risk youth. The need for mentors for all of our mentoring programs continues to grow.”

A high school mentor agrees to meet with his/her mentee 1½ hours each week in the student’s respective school. During their time together, the mentor is encouraged to engage in a variety of activities with his/her “little” brother or sister, including recreation, educational games, homework assistance and simply talking about “what’s happening.” Furthermore, the School Buddies share the same school holidays and summer vacations as their little brother or sister.

“The process to become a mentor for any of the mentoring programs is simple,” Balster said. “A brief application, background and reference checks and an interview with staff to gauge match preferences are conducted to get the mentoring experience underway.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters strives to match mentors and children together who have similar likes and dislikes and offers support and advice from case workers to facilitate ideal relationships/matches. Dollars will go toward the case management staff charged with overseeing the match throughout the year to ensure a positive, safe relationship. In fact, the national annual average to maintain a mentor-to-youth match is $750 to $1,000.

To learn more about School Buddies or other programs offered by BBBS (One-on-One Program, Supper Club with Marsh Foundation or AmachiOhio — Mentoring Children of Prisoners Program), and to begin the process of becoming a mentor, call 419.394.2290.

POSTED: 04/29/11 at 1:23 am. FILED UNDER: Youth