Photo Credit: Big Brothers Big Sisters Grande Prairie Facebook page.

By Shane Clausing

Community

Big Brothers Big Sisters looking for volunteer mentors as school year returns

Sep 3, 2020 | 5:00 AM

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Grande Prairie is searching for volunteers to help mentor and impact the lives of young people in the community.

The organization says that as of right now, there are currently 37 youth on a waiting list, most of them are boys. That is a 35 per cent increase since 2017.

Corinne Patterson with Big Brothers Big Sisters says being a mentor could have a large impact on a young person’s life.

“We are looking for people in the community that would like to do something to make an impact in their community. We have all age groups that volunteer for us, (such as) people in college who want to get out there and get their hands into what they are working towards, say social work. There’s really no limit, we just need people to give their time to a child in need.”

According to Patterson, one of the biggest reasons why there has been such a large jump in the demand for volunteer mentors is the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“We’ve had families (where) there have been deaths in the family, we have families who have lost their jobs. People in our community are under a lot of stress, so that’s when the need goes up. We need people that just want to spend time with the kid.

Patterson tells EverythingGP that the average age of volunteers is between 25-35, but there are also older individuals aged 50 plus that help out as well.

Somebody who does volunteer to mentor a child normally organizes an activity to keep them entertained.

Activities can range from baking cookies or going for a bike ride in Muskoseepi Park.

Big Brothers Big Sisters also has deals with facilities like the Eastlink Centre and free movie or bowling passes, so volunteers don’t have to pay out of pocket for the activity.

“We try to give those out when we can, but we try to encourage the matches to make those decisions together based on their interests,” explained Patterson.

Those interested in volunteering can contact Big Brothers Big Sisters by emailing Corinne.patterson@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca or by calling their office at 780-532-0620.