Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrating national day by encouraging volunteers to join

Big Brothers Big Sisters Moose Jaw has had an unusual summer, but all of the program’s mentors and mentees — or Littles and Bigs, as program co-ordinators call them — are adapting well and to be celebrating National Big Brothers Big Sisters Day today.

COVID-19 has changed a number of things for the program, but regional director Amy Noureldin said all of Moose Jaw’s matched pairs have been making the best of their circumstances.

“We have been very busy over the last few months. We have about 14 matches that exist in Moose Jaw, and we are pretty proud of them because they’ve been really great at staying connected and supporting each other,” said Noureldin. 

Safety was a top priority for Big Brothers Big Sisters when the pandemic began this spring, said Noureldin. Fundraising events have been put on hold indefinitely and things moved from in-person hangouts to virtual ones back in March. The program even held a tech drive to make sure that everyone in the program had the right tools to stay connected during such an unusual time.

Pairs are just now transitioning back to in-person meetings on a case-by-case basis, for those who are comfortable with following physical distancing rules, although many are continuing to meet virtually to chat and do activities together.

But the spirit of the mentorship program has never dimmed, said Noureldin, as Bigs and Littles alike have continued to stick together regardless of the method of communication.

“It’s been really cool to see how resilient the Littles are and how supportive and engaged and just really positive the Bigs are,” said Noureldin. “Just their dedication to the mentees, their goals and to the program, it’s been really gratifying.”

Now that September is here and has brought with it Big Brothers Big Sisters Day, Big Brothers Big Sisters is even more proud of the program’s continued success despite pandemic complications.

The national day celebrating the long-running program falls within Big Brothers Big Sisters Month, and while normally program chapters would be hosting a big barbeque event for all their participants, this year is looking a bit different.

“COVID-19 put a damper on our usual plan (so) we are keeping it low-key and hoping to come back bigger and better for next year,” said Noureldin. 

Rather than hosting something big, the program is instead encouraging individual pairs to plan their own hangouts together and directors are focusing on encouraging more volunteer mentors to sign up to be Bigs. 

This includes in Moose Jaw, which has about 40 kids currently on the program’s waiting list who are waiting to be paired up with a volunteer Big, said Noureldin.

“We are still looking for volunteers and there are kids on the waitlists, and we are, as an agency pretty flexible in terms of what it looks like when matches get together,” said Noureldin. “Our kids need us now more than ever, and we’ve got lots of activities, information, resources to help them connect.”

Anyone interested in joining Big Brothers Big Sisters in Moose Jaw can visit the program’s website for more information or contact the office at 1 (306) 513-8925.