Last year at about this time, BBBSO had to stop taking applications for the Bigs in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Buddy Up and Couples Match programs. With almost 200 Volunteers in process and a wait time of 6-12 months to be matched with a Little and our Mentoring Coordinators working at full capacity supporting up to 150 matches, it was crucial that resources were focused on serving those already matched or waiting to be matched. It was a difficult but necessary decision to make and the Ottawa community has been very supportive.

This past year, BBBSO has worked diligently with those Bigs and Littles who had already applied. As a result, in the past year we have created 60 new matches, and mentored 40 Little Brothers in the Big Bunch group program. We have successfully reduced our wait list from 180 children to 87 Little Brothers and Little Sisters still waiting for a Big. 

At this point we are now able to accept applications for Big Brothers to match with the 53 Little Brother’s who are still on the wait list, while we continue to match Big Sisters and Little sisters. So we are now inviting men who are interested and available to spend 2 hours a week mentoring a boy between the ages of 8-13 to submit an application to become a Big Brother. We are particularly looking for Bigs to mentor in Barrhaven, Nepean and Ottawa South. While we anticipate opening enrollment to Big Sisters in the future, our current need is to find suitable mentors for our Little Brothers. 

So what does it take to be a Big Brother?  Our Bigs are ages 18 and up, and are mature, responsible and caring adults who are willing to provide a consistent and stable role model to a child in the community. The Little’s in our program are ages 6-16. They are children who are lacking an adult role model in their life or who have been determined to likely benefit from spending one-on-one time with a positive role model. Every child is different, some are energetic and outgoing while others are more reserved. Each has his own sense of humour and his own set of interests.

If you are interested in becoming a Big Brother click HERE to get started!