Dr. Ghislaine Radegonde-Eison is President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester(BBBSR). Their mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. They do this so all children achieve success in life. Their values are safety, integrity, accountability, caring, teamwork and quality. BBBSR ignites the power and promise of youth through one-on-one mentoring and serves Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, and Yates counties. Their focus is on equity, resilience, and long-term success.
Safety of children is first priority so all mentors go through a thorough background check. A mentor does not need to know all the answers the child asks, just that they are there to listen and believe. Longtime mentoring has been shown to have a strong influence on success. Just being there is what's important to show that someone cares.
Volunteers needed: You can become a mentor, a brand ambassador, promote social media, be a photographer, bring any skill you have to support their program. They ask what you love to do and they will set it up for you on how to help. Career days are available where you can come and share your experience with the kids to let them know they can do it if they try. Supplies are also needed for their mentoring center/resource room. They have several fundraisers during the year that also need volunteers.
BBBSR is a small team of 10 that serves over 240 kids. A Food Pantry was recently started and they are trying to find a balance of when they are open so will need volunteers. Children aged 8-16 can join program and they can stay until 21. There is currently a backlog of over 130 kids from black community as the families have requested mentors from that community.
For more info see PRESENTATION.
