The Power of Mentoring
Lehigh Elementary 5th grader Justin’s mother died last year, shot in front of him.
Dunbar Middle School 7th grader Rachael is partially blind, so is her mother, and her grandmother. She gets picked on at school.
10-year-old Zack lives with his grandmother, both parents are in prison.
These are real stories from Lehigh Acres children on the waiting list in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. The stories are heart wrenching, and sadly all too common. Their parents or guardians come to us, many times with desperation. “If only he had a Big Brother, someone he could look up to, someone to show him he is important,” one of our child’s guardians said. “Then maybe he would see he can do better with his life. “
The idea is that a mentor or “Big” as we call them in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, can show the child another way, a glimpse into a life and a different path then the one they are currently heading on. The path is not always their fault, many times, it is a path already carved out for them, a path their father traveled, and their father’s father. “Bigs” show up at the right time, they help children make better decisions, and lift them up, and out of their current circumstances, by simply “being there.”
Mentors don’t need any special skills. They just need to be a functional adult, for many of the children in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, they’ve never seen one.
Big Brothers Big Sisters has two programs. Either the volunteer visits the child during school, at a set day and time, or they visit the child out in the community, picking them up at their home and spending time with them. A friendship is quickly formed. ONE HOUR A WEEK IS ALL THAT IS REQUIRED.
More than 43 children are sitting on the Big Brothers Big Sisters waiting list from Lehigh Acres alone. There are no adult mentors coming through the pipeline to help these children.
If you have a heart for children, and you have even the slightest bit of wisdom you’d like to pass along, please call Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast at 239-288-4224, or email at amelvin@bbbssun.org. You can also learn more at www.bbbssun.org