Additionally, there are several related programs that are customized to specific categories of children, volunteers or partners. They include:

Amachi Big Brothers

Big Sisters

Amachi congregation members serve children of incarcerated parents. Big Brothers Big Sisters screens and matches church members with children who have been identified and enrolled by their custodial parent or guardian. An onsite church volunteer coordinator provides a point of contact for ongoing volunteer support and information. Because the church is a common meeting ground, there are enhanced opportunities for group events involving matches, or for support and training activities for volunteers.

Alpha Phi

Alpha BBBS

Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity volunteers meet one-on-one with African American boys for sponsored activities (sporting events, picnics, informal get-togethers, etc.). Alpha Phi Alpha members have a strong ethic of service and are positive role models for their Littles.

Club-based Big Brothers

and Big Sisters (Up2Us)

Boys & Girls Club volunteers meet with their Littles at the club, typically three times a month for recreational activities that last one to two hours. The program provides structure and offers a safe meeting place, which appeals to parents, children and volunteers. The BBBS-BGC partnership grew out of a pilot project funded by a 2001 Pillsbury Foundation grant.

Corporate

Volunteers

Businesses and corporations partner with local Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliates to encourage volunteerism and community support among their employees. Employees are recruited and enrolled as a group, and paired one-on-one with children in a nearby school. Typically, volunteers meet with their Littles once a week during their lunch hour.

High School

Bigs

High school juniors and seniors provide elementary student Littles with one-on-one time and attention, once a week during the academic year. The pairs meet during or after school hours depending on the proximity of their school locations. High School Bigs experience the joy and life changing power of service, build college resumes, and may receive school credits. Littles have the opportunity to connect with a role model close to their own age whom they identify with strongly.

Making A

Match

In all programs we strive to make the most appropriate match for a Big and a Little. We take both Bigs’ and Littles’ preferences into consideration prior to matching. We understand that there may be particular qualities you are looking for in a youth to be matched up with. We will try our best to match you according to those preferences, but please be aware that it may take longer to match you if we do not currently have an appropriate child enrolled or the appropriate child is not able to meet when you are available. In the site/school based program, once we find the child in the participating school you would like to volunteer in, the enrollment process can take time as we need to receive an evaluation from the child’s teacher, a permission form returned by the parent and an interview with the child.

Support

Professional staff oversees and ensures regular contact with the volunteer, parent/guardian and child in order to foster and maintain the growth of the relationship, ensure the safety of the child and meet the child’s needs. The Match Support Specialist contacts the volunteer, parent/guardian and child within the first two weeks after the initial match meeting. They then maintain monthly contact with all parties for the first year of the match. Ongoing support continues if the match continues beyond the year.