BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS LONE STAR

The children served by BBBS come from "moderate" to "high risk" categories of need--defined as poverty (receiving free or reduced priced lunches), non-traditional parenting (living in a home with other than their married two parents), and/or impacted by incarceration (a parent or close family member in prison or involved in probation/parole). BBBS helps these at-risk children reach their potential through several principal mentoring programs: School-based, Community-based and Amachi Texas.

In Community-based Mentoring, an at-risk child is matched with an adult volunteer mentor, or Big Sister/ Big Brother. Mentors meet with their Little Sisters or Little Brothers (Littles) for two to four meetings per month, sharing activities both enjoy. Most important, matched pairs share formative conversation in which children can share their troubles and mentors can provide the direction and inspiration to surmount them and pursue success. Participants are free to select activities of their own choosing. These can include museums, sporting events, meals, hikes, movies- virtually anything which will contribute to a deep and enduring relationship. Additionally, BBBS sponsors regular group activities, like outings to sporting events, swim days and picnics, among others, which are an opportunity to meet and share experiences with other program participants. Community-based mentors are valuable resources to their Littles in providing educational support, as evidenced in early BBBS Youth Outcome Survey results.

School-based Mentoring seeks to lower the drop-out rate by providing direct educational support while tending to the wealth of component issues that contribute to a teenager leaving school without a diploma. In this program, mentors meet with their Little Sister/Little Brother two to four times a month during an extended lunch period, a non-core class or after school. Meetings occur entirely on the child’s campus. While the focus is on relationship development and social support, this creates an environment that allows the mentor to help the student academically, ensuring that a child be promoted to the next grade level. Mentor and child share fun activities such as playing games and, most importantly, formative conversation in which the child can broach any problems he is having at school or home. Teachers and school counselors play an important role, regularly consulting with mentors to keep them abreast of academic progress, classroom behavior and generally providing information which helps mentors address specific problems a child might be having. So that a mentoring relationship does not wane during school holidays, BBBS offers optional summertime activities for children and their mentors to attend, helping them to maintain the strength of their bond.

Amachi Texas seeks to break the intergenerational cycle of incarceration by pairing the children of an incarcerated or paroled parent with an adult mentor, frequently recruited from a faith-based organization. Those children, too often marginalized and forgotten, face a 70 percent chance themselves of becoming incarcerated as an adult. BBBS reduces the likelihood of this fate by providing guidance, support and decision-making skills. Enrolled children participate in either the School-based or Community-based programs, but with more mentor training and match support required by their more difficult circumstances and higher incidence of serious problems.