Your Campus Connection

Are you an individual who has enjoyed connecting with people over the phone, online and through video chats? We are excited to share with you our new Virtual Tutoring program. Youth will be between the grades of 4-12. Mentors are asked to connect on line for 45-60 minutes once a week with their mentee for the current school year. Through virtual tutoring, children and youth receive academic support related to math, science, literacy and any other related subject.

Over time, this helps children and youth meaningfully improve their academic skills and become more confident in these abilities.

Spend time with a mentee supporting their academic success

Mentees: Anyone between the grades of 4-12. Mentees will log on virtually either from home or their school.

Mentors: Anyone over the age of 16

Minimum Commitment: 45-60 minutes each week during the school term.

Are you an individual who has enjoyed connecting with people over the phone, online and through video chats? We are excited to share with you our new Virtual Mentoring Program. Youth will be between the ages of 6 – 18 years of age. Our virtual mentoring program will support youth in an social emotional capacity. Mentors are asked to connect on line at least once a week with their mentee for a one year commitment. We anticipate that through one-to-one mentoring children and youth will experience developmental relationships evidenced by the following elements: their mentor challenges them to grow, provides support, shares power, and children and youth know they matter to their mentor.

Over time, this helps children and youth develop self- and social-awareness, improves their self-management and relationship skills, and helps them make responsible decisions.

Spend time with a mentee virtually by playing games together, making a craft or simply connecting.

Mentees: Anyone between the age of 6 and 18. Mentees will log on virtually either from home or their school.

BIGS & LITTLES are the terms used when referring to the mentoring relationship between one adult and one child. This is the platform on which the separate Big Brothers and Big Sisters organizations were founded in New York in 1904. Our volunteers in the Big Brothers/ Sisters program share their time with one child through participating in a variety of activities that reflect the interests of both parties; it’s as simple as being a good friend to a good kid. BGCBigs works with Bigs to match them directly with Littles in ways that considers similar interests, geography and program type. Children with mentors experience incredible life benefits such as:

•Becoming 80% more likely to finish high school
•Becoming 2-4x less likely to bully, lie, cheat, steal or become involved in drugs and/or alcohol
•78% of our kids coming from a family history of social assistance (parents depending on welfare, food banks, etc., to make ends meet) do not experience the same challenges in their adulthood
•Their life time income is $300,000 dollars more, on average, than youth who did not have mentors

The Youth in Care program is a section of Big Brothers Big Sisters community based mentoring that works specifically with youth in government care. Our volunteers share their time with one child through participating in a variety of activities that reflect the interests of both parties; it’s as simple as being a good friend to a good kid. BGCBigs works with Bigs to match them directly with Littles in ways that considers similar interests, and geography.
Through the YIC mentoring program mentors are connected to youth living in a variety of settings such as group homes, foster care, or kinship placements. The goal of YIC mentoring is to create healthy positive relationships for youth who may have experienced many transitions throughout their lives.
We believe it’s so important to be able to provide mentoring programs specifically for youth who have had involvement with Alberta Child and Family Services. Mentoring a youth in care has all the same impacts as mentoring through our other programs. Children with mentors experience incredible life benefits such as:

•Becoming 80% more likely to finish high school
•Increased confidence, self-esteem and sense of hope
•Less likely to engage in drugs and alcohol
•Improvement in relationships with adults and peers