Big Brothers And Big Sisters Of Dane County Inc

Community - the core, traditional program of bbbs involves an adult mentor "big" matched with a child "little". These community-based mentoring relationships involve one-on-one outings and activities, doing things the big and little enjoy together like: taking a walk in the park, going to a museum, listening to music, or hanging out and talking. Some bigs meet with their littles on the weekends. Others get together with their littles on weekday evenings. Each match is unique and develops a schedule that works for them. Each match is supervised and supported by an agency match support specialist.match support - the professional monitoring, support and continual engagement with the big, little, parent/guardian(s), and site partners while the match is active. Match support staff guide the match in achieving positive outcomes for the youth, and transition the match to closure and re-engagement when appropriate.agency-sponsored match activities and events - plan and conduct youth-centered activities that both enhance the connection to the agency and strengthen match relationships. Agency-sponsored activities can range from one-time events such as holiday parties and back-to-school picnics to structured activities that span several weeks or months.

Site-based mentoring -school friends mentoring/mentoru - adult mentors (bigs) visit their littles one time per week for 30-60 minutes during lunch/recess or after school. Matches play sports, read, and do arts & crafts, or just hang out and talk. Bbbs staff are on-site during the program to facilitate activities, connect with school personnel, and provide in-person support to bigs/littles. In 2022, the school friends program was replaced with mentoru. Mentoru's mission is to help high school students develop personal, academic, and career skills by providing each student with a volunteer mentor with experience in a variety of areas. The mentoru class and the mentors will offer extra opportunities and resources to students regarding career exploration, college admission guidance, and future planning. We match every student with a volunteer adult mentor based on shared career and/or personal interest. Once a week, students have mentoru class time to complete a weekly lesson and communicate with their mentor by sending an online message via the bbbs messaging technology platform. Students and mentors discuss various topics in their weekly messages, such as perseverance, critical thinking, self-advocacy, and goal-setting. The mentor u program ended in mid-2024 and members were transferred to community programming.the high school leadership program (hslp) - this innovative program pairs high school mentors with elementary mentees in mentoring relationships that build confidence and increase connectedness to school, culture, and peers. The program uses a curriculum that gives younger and older students an opportunity to grow and learn from one another during their weekly mentoring sessions, with engaging activities centered on topics like developing a growth mindset, building empathy, learning stem skills, and practicing gratitude. High school mentors also receive coaching and mentorship from bbbs staff.

Other - additional events, supplies, and training to support bbbs' one-to-one mentoring programs.

Back-to-school - an annual event where backpacks and school supply kits are provided to mentees to get them ready for the upcoming school year.