There are so many great ways to get invovled with BBBS. I’d like to elaborate on some other options a bit later but I’ve recently been introduced to the idea of an everyday advocate (maybe a good option for people who can’t get directly invovled with a little or people who want to help out with the administrative side). I’m sure you could take this many different ways but since I’m journaling about my experience I want to use this to give back to and advocate for BBBS. I know that when I was looking into the organization I was looking for a first hand experience to get a grip on how it would go. I didn’t really find that. What I did find was stories and news items, but no “from the horses mouth” good day/bad day/beginning to end/what the realtionship was like expereince. I wanted to REALLY know what I was getting in to.
As most non-profits do, BBBS I’m sure relies heavily on their volunteer support group. These are some of the ideas that they had to offer to help out/recruit more participants.
1. Encourage your family, friends and co-workers to volunteer. We can provide you with e-mail templates to send to your friends, family, co-workers and/or community organizations.
2. Post flyers at local businesses or community organizations. Click here to download a tear-off flyer.
3. Give a presentation about BBBS to professional or community groups in which you’re a member.
4. Invite a BBBS representative to give a presentation at your place of business.
5. Hand out “Become a Mentor” business cards to anyone who might be interested in volunteering.
6. Speak at a BBBS Volunteer Orientation.
7. Post an article in your company’s employee newsletter or intranet (BBBS can provide the article).
8. Give your time. In addition to Big Brothers and Sisters, agency volunteers help out with large mailings, office tasks, staff events and share their unique talents.
9. Be an intern. BBBS has internships throughout the agency, including Enrollment and Matching, Match Support, School-based, Development and Marketing and Public Relations.
I’m so excited about this organization bring some great changes to our communities!! Thanks BBBS
Hey Joseph,
I love this blog and would like to thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Wanting to know everything about BBBS right away is a human trait of wanting to be in the know. We hear this suggestion a lot – to give out more information, especially at Orientation, because our volunteers really want to know what they’re getting into.
Unfortunately, we don’t tell too much because every match is different. Most are great, some are not so hot. We give ideas for events you can do with your Little, but we want you to plan activities that you both enjoy doing. We don’t want you to go see a movie because everyone else is doing it.
As much as we promote creating a deep connection with a child, we also promote individuality. We don’t want to give you spoon-fed answers because there’s a good chance your match may not be like that.
However, we do encourage current Bigs to share their stories. Match Central and now Facebook are ways for our Bigs to share stories. If you are a current Big, we would love to hear what you have to say!
Thanks for the reinforcement Mike… I love the work you guys are doing over there. It makes being a big such an enjoyable experience. The process has been so smooth thus far and I’m excited to finally meet my little!!! I’ll keep you posted!