Volunteers wanted!

I wrote this for the May edition of RACC's Front Street Journal. Read and enjoy!!!

Volunteering is a healthy, positive thing to do with your free time. Service work is a good way to give back what was freely given to you. There are many benefits to volunteering, such as pride, satisfaction, and accomplishment. By volunteering you gain work experience, build your resume, learn or develop skills, and improve your physical and mental health. Not to mention the positive impact on one’s community.

There are many important reasons to volunteer your time, and there are just as many causes and issues out there. One very important cause is mentoring children. Children are our future, and some children are falling through the cracks. One public agency that helps these children in our own area is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berks County. BBBS was established in 1968 in Berks County as one of the initial mentoring agencies serving children from single parent families. Their mentoring programs focus on providing quality-based services to area at-risk youth. Big Brothers Big Sisters is always looking for positive, adult volunteers.

There is a process to become a volunteer at BBBS. First there is a 10-15 minute phone orientation where the potential Big is informed about the eligibility requirements, the programs available, and the application process. After the orientation, the volunteer is sent an application packet- which includes the application and some paperwork. As part of that application packet, the volunteer provides the agency with four references. Potential volunteers are required to undergo a PA Criminal Background Check and a CHILDLINE check, which is done annually. Each volunteer is also required to attend a Volunteer Training and Empowerment session; in addition, a personal interview is conducted with each potential volunteer. Those volunteers wanting to be matched with a little in the One to One Program must attend a second Training session and have a Home Assessment conducted prior to being matched. The process to become a volunteer has its steps, but it is not difficult.

Big Brothers Big Sisters has two programs that you can volunteer for. The ONE to ONE program is their best known program. A positive adult role model (age 19 or older) is matched with a Little Brother or Little Sister for about 8-10 hours a month for at least one year. The Big, Little and parent decide on what the outings are and when and where they take place, with guidance and support from BBBS professional staff.

There is another mentoring program that provides immediate mentoring services to the littles who are unmatched. This program is called COUL, the club of unmatched littles. This program is great for volunteers with time constraints! Supervised COUL activities are held weekly for unmatched littles who are waiting to be matched in the ONE to ONE program. The activities differ each week, and range informational and educational, to fun! Volunteer mentors only need to attend 6 agency sponsored activities a year, which equals around 12 hours a year. COUL fosters resiliency, encourages goal setting, teaches life skills and provides all COUL kids with a caring and supportive environment.

Big Brothers Big Sisters serve youth aged 8 to 19 years old. Their community based programs concentrate on single parent households (some exceptions are made). A large majority of their youth are at or below the poverty level, although income in not a determining factor in acceptance to the agency. In 2011, 42% were Caucasian, 32% Hispanic and 25% Black or multiracial. The one thing they all have in common is that they are all in need of a positive mentor. All littles are from Berks County. About 42% of them are from the City of Reading and the other 58% are from nearly every school district in Berks County.

Over the past three years, BBBS has maintained a 100% high school graduation rate. All littles who were eligible to graduate high school did. Also, 99% of their littles advanced to the next grade. Less than 1% has been involved in teenage pregnancy instances, and that includes both boys and girls.

According to their Program Outcomes-based Evaluation tool (POE) over 73% of youth surveyed felt that their academic performance was better. About 81% of the youth surveyed said they felt more self-confident, and nearly 80% of those surveyed felt that they were better able to avoid delinquency.

According to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a national survey revealed the positive effects of mentoring on a child. It said that 46% were less likely to start using drugs, 27% were less likely to drink alcohol, 52% less likely to skip school, and 73% more likely to set goals.

There is also a shortage of male volunteers. There is a strong need for male mentors. About 60% of their littles who are not matched are Little Brothers. The reason behind it is a difficult one. A July 2004 report from the National Mentoring Center examined some of those theories. Time commitment is one. Men are more apt to believe their time is already committed or over committed, and that they have no time to volunteer. Some men believe that volunteering with children is a “feminine activity”. They also could be unaware of the need for male mentors.

When asked why he thinks it is important to volunteer, Executive Director of BBBS of Berks County said this: “As a longtime volunteer Big Brother, I can say first-hand that volunteering as a Big Brother or Big Sister can be a very rewarding experience. Sometimes the positive effects are small, sometimes bigger… but the effects are evident nonetheless, and knowing that you had a part in bettering a child’s life is”.

Who knows where these children would be today if programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters didn’t exist. One former Little Brother Charles Scheetz, Assistant Director of Financial Aid at Keuka College, once said, “I don’t know where I would be without Big Brothers Big Sisters, but I do know I wouldn’t be where I am today.” The best way someone can help these kids is by volunteering, volunteering, volunteering. Or, if you can’t volunteer, support events that help raise money for programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters. Participate in the annual Bowl For Kids’ Sake event, their biggest fundraiser of the year, in the April/May timeframe or the Golf Invitational in August.

To obtain more information about BBBS programs, or to become involved with the agency go to www.BigsinBerks.org, or call the agency at (610) 373-5544.