Just four hours a week can make a lifetime of difference for kids involved with the Big Brother Big Sister program

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By Paul Merrigan
This Week Staff

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September is Big Brother Big Sister Month across Canada as we celebrate and recognize one of the world's best known and most respected volunteer organizations.

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The local chapter of Big Brothers/Big Sisters has been going strong for 35 years, contributing countless volunteer hours to our community and helping to improve the lives of many children within the Greater Moncton Area.

"We have three programs available for volunteers in the Moncton area," says Joline LeBlanc. "There is the traditional program, which is matching a Big Brother or Big Sister with a child, which is a time commitment of about four hours per week."

Aside from the well known traditional program, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Moncton are also very involved in local schools.

"We have In School Mentoring and Diversity In School Mentoring which is mostly in District 2," says Joline. "The diversity mentoring is for people that have moved here from other countries.

"The mentoring takes an hour a week for volunteers as opposed to the four hours a week that we have for the traditional program."

Locally, there are currently 81 children matched with local Big Brothers, Big Sisters or Big Couples. There are also approximately 60 children on the waiting list who have yet to be matched, some of whom can wait months or even years before finding a match.

"We know that there are more than 60 kids waiting for matches as well," explains Joline. "Many times when a parent calls and hears the length of the list, they don't pursue it.

"Fortunately, we have a Big Bunch program that includes all of the kids who are waiting to be matched. The Big Bunch that is for kids aged 14 to 16, which is the one that we have the greatest need for volunteers."

Sherry Sparkes, a Riverview resident and Director of Building Inspections with the City of Moncton, became involved with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program in 2005, after her husband John, applied to become a Big Brother.

"The two of us went through the list of potential matches he was given and chose the child that we thought that would benefit the most from the experience," explains Sherry.

"In our case, our Little Brother had been waiting for a match for three years, so the first time that we met him, it was quite an emotional experience."

From that first experience, a relationship was born and has been going strong for over three years.

"What has been extremely rewarding has been watching his development and his confidence level increase," explains Sherry.

"Since we've started the program I think we've been a real stable and consistent part of his life, which is important for any child."

While the children who are matched receive obvious benefits, it holds true that both sides of the relationship gain a lot through the time spent together.

"For us it was just an awesome opportunity to make a difference in a child's life," continues Sherry. "Our own kids are both grown, so it's also nice to have a young person involved in our lives. It is a commitment each weekend, but it's not a commitment seven days a week."

Four hours out a week that contains 168 is a small commitment for people to give in the grand scheme, especially for the difference such an investment can make in the lives of the children involved with the program.

"I think that these children who sometimes don't have the benefits that others do are helped so much by people just giving up a little of their time," states Sherry. "It really isn't much to give."

For more information on the programs available, please contact Big Brothers Big Sisters Moncton at 857-3047 or visit their website at www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/moncton.