Volunteers stepping forward leaving fewer children waiting for mentors. Despite a rocky start to the pandemic, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Muskoka is thriving.
“Mentoring our young people — I really do believe that it’s so important,” said Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller during a Zoom meeting announcing funding for the organization through the Ontario Trillium. “Thank you for your work, and I know that work has been made more difficult in COVID times.”
“When the COVID pandemic hit, our mentoring co-ordinator position really kind of collapsed,” executive director Fallon Miller told MuskokaRegion.com. “We didn’t have the money to really support very many hours at all, and when we started to ramp back up, that position was only part-time.”blob:https://rampupmuskoka.ca/0cf1a9df-c42f-46dc-9554-b2ba0c0387aa
Fallon started in the mentoring co-ordinator role in September 2020 and likened it to treading water, believing she wasn’t effective although she tried very hard.
She spoke of the challenges of peer mentorship when bigs and littles could not connect in person.
“It was difficult to add anyone to the list because we were so overwhelmed, and our mentors needed such a high rate of support that it was difficult to start anything new,” she said.
However, this all began to change with the receipt of the $55,000 resilient communities fund grant in April, which allowed the organization to, among other things, hire a full-time mentoring co-ordinator.
Fallon said the number of children longing for mentors is much less — a wait-list of close to 40 has dropped to 15.
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The funding also allowed the organization to improve virtual match meetings with upgraded activity kits. A monthly group meeting with mentors and matches has seen attendance double, and many new volunteers have come on board.
Fallon said it is “amazing” that so many volunteers have been willing to go through the registration process during a pandemic.
“You made a strong case for the $55,000 grant,” said Chris Litschko of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
He stated that giving young people the programs they need to build confidence and social networks is invaluable and thanked the organization for their “valued work during these challenging times to help children reach their full potential.”
Fallon Miller says the funding is allowing Big Brothers Big Sisters of Muskoka the opportunity to “thrive in a very unprecedented situation.”
For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Muskoka and their programs, visit muskoka.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca.
Mary Beth Hartill – Bracebridge Examiner – Wednesday, January 26, 2022