Why Mentor Through BBBSLR?
Think back to when you were a child – who was the person, other than a parent, who brought a little magic into your life just by being there? Who took you to your first ballgame? Who showed you how to find the North Star? Who made you laugh so hard your stomach hurt? By becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister, you can be that special person in the life of a child - just be a friend to a child who needs one….. Have fun together. Learn from each other. Help a child discover those little moments that are so magical for a young person. And you both will be forever changed by the experience.
Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country distinguish themselves from other mentoring programs in important ways:
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We define ourselves by what we achieve, not just by what we do. We are making impact in strengthening positive relationships for our Littles, helping them improve their academic success, and supporting them in reducing risky behaviors such as violence and substance abuse.
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We have nationwide measures for the Strength of Relationships and Positive Outcomes.
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We are a nationwide federation of 400 agencies with over a century of experience. Through this network, we share best practices and mutual guidance.
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With 255,000 matches in 2008, we are the largest one-to-one mentoring organization in the world.
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We have a national office that provides mentoring leadership to the nation and supportive assistance to agencies.
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We have a Nationwide Strategic Direction, a BBBSA Business Plan, and agencies have their individual Agency Business Plans.
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We have National Standards and we are drawn together by our Affiliation Agreements.
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We have a Service Delivery System that includes performance metrics that enable us to set goals for Quality and to track our progress. The Service Delivery System includes essential practices for carrying out Recruitment and Partnership Development, Customer Relations, Enrollment and Match, and Match Support.
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We have zero tolerance for child abuse. We have a nationwide Child Safety System that treats child sexual abuse frankly and openly in discussions and strategies to reduce sexual abuse involving our Littles.
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We have our AIM (Agency Information Management) System that is increasing its coverage yearly with the goal of involving all BBBS matches. As of the end of 2007, 52% of our matches were included in the system. AIM contains records of every individual match file and enables real time performance management based on report summaries from those files.