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ABOUT US ... What does it mean to be a Big Brother/Big Sister?


sistersAs our nation’s leader in positive youth development, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been helping to shape young people into caring, successful, productive adults for over a century. This year, Rappahannock Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrated its 40th Anniversary. In the past ten years, RBBBS has more than quadrupled its number of one-on-one matches between caring adult mentors and at-risk youth.

In 2006, 431 youth were served through agency programs -- Community-Based, Campus Pals, Bigs in Schools, Bigs Plus, and Intergenerational Mentoring. While this is an 18% increase in the number of youth served last year at this time, according to the Prevention Planning Partnership (PPP), there is an escalating need for prevention services for children and youth in the rapidly growing Planning District 16.

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Fall 2007 Edition

Summer 2007 Edition

 

Serving as a Big Brother or Big Sister clearly makes a difference in the life of a child ... and in the life of the volunteer.

Read about Volunteering.
 

Visit the NEW Bigs Page.

Read about our Programs.

Read our Annual Report.

In 1992-93, a study was done in eight states with 959 boys and girls. The children, 10-16 years old, were randomly divided into two groups. In one group, they were matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister. In the second group, they were put on a waiting list. The children who were matched met with their Big Brothers/Sisters about three times a month for an average of one year.

Eighteen months after the start of the study, researchers found that the Little Brothers and Little Sisters were:

u 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
u 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
u 52% less likely to skip school
u 37% less likely to skip a class

In addition, they were:
u More confident of their performance in schoolwork
u Less likely to hit someone
u Getting along better with their families

The Big Brother/Big Sister Program is not mandatory or court-ordered. The children in the program do not have severe emotional or behavioral problems. They simply need additional support and encouragement -- friends to look up to, who care, and who take an interest in them! Parents voluntarily initiate requests for service. Staff members and caseworkers determine eligibility and fulfill the screening and matching process.