Mission Statement
Mission: Create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.
Vision: All youth achieve their full potential.
All of our programs and services are targeted toward low-income youth, particularly those growing up in single-caregiver homes. Across all of our programs, youth with trauma are our focus. Services are provided through three primary one-to-one mentoring programs:
– Community-based, where Bigs and Littles meet weekly out in the community and the Big works alongside the parent or guardian for the growth of the child. Bigs and Littles spend 8-10+ hours together each month for a year or more, sharing activities such as library or museum visits, ball games, community service, and other everyday activities.
– Site-based, where Bigs and Littles (aged 6-16) meet once a week at a school or after-school facility during the school year. Matches share educational and recreational activities such as board games, arts & crafts, outdoor recreation, or schoolwork. Educational & recreational materials support matches, and students are encouraged toward social-emotional and academic growth.
– Site-Based Facilitated Mentoring: mentors (“Bigs”) and youth (“Littles”) aged 6-18 are brought together in mentoring relationships outside of the traditional Community/Site-Based structures. We created this option to provide flexibility for mentoring relationships in response to changing conditions in our service area, while maintaining standards that produce positive outcomes for children and youth. Site-Based Facilitated programming includes E-mentoring/MentorU, High School Bigs, Sports Buddies, and Big Cousins.