Big Brothers Big Sisters Of Wyoming Looking For Volunteers

National Volunteer Week is April 21-27, and Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) would like to thank the many volunteers who provide one-to-one mentoring to local youth. Established in 1974, the Week is about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities. It's about working together, in unison, to meet challenges and accomplish goals. National Volunteer Week is about taking action, encouraging individuals and their respective communities to be at the center of social change — discovering and actively demonstrating their collective power to foster positive transformation. BBBS volunteer adult mentors have been making that transformation over 100 years nationally and over 40 years in Wyoming.

Potential BBBS volunteers are carefully screened and matched to a child between the ages of 5 and 16 with similar interests and hobbies, providing a positive role model as well as a strong and enduring friendship that literally changes the life of that child for the better, forever. Once a match is made, ongoing support sustains those matches. Our mentoring program not only has nationally-proven results, but we’re the only intervention program in Wyoming with documented proven results that show kids in our program are less likely to try drugs, alcohol and tobacco, and are less likely to skip school or drop out. We don’t focus on what society considers “at-risk” kids; we consider all kids to be at risk in today’s world. In our own community, we see schools and preschools go into lockdown because of threats aimed directly at the school or the surrounding neighborhood. Kids are facing peer pressure at a younger age when it comes to drugs and alcohol. It is tougher to be a kid today than any other time in history. One-to-one mentoring has proven to be successful in helping kids break negative cycles by making positive choices.

A little time spent with a child can have a big impact on their future. If you are interested in being a mentor, the first step is to contact the local office by calling 307-265-2227, emailing Lisa@wyobbbs.org or stopping by our office at 400 East 1^st St., Ste. 310. You can catch us on the web at www.wyobbbs.org or see our facebook page here