Volunteering as a Big Brother or Big Sister is a wonderful opportunity to make a positive difference in a young person’s life in a simple yet powerful way.

Community BBBS
BBBS is a mentoring programme that matches an adult volunteer to a young person (10-18 years). The basic idea is that a friendship will form between the young person and adult volunteer that will promote the positive development of the young person.

It believes that the friendship will act as an early intervention to help prevent future difficulties and be a support to a young person and his/her family facing adversity in their lives. Having a caring adult friend can help build positive assets for a young person and to enable them to have:

• A positive sense of self and the future
• Positive values of caring, social justice, honesty and responsibility
• Social competencies of making friends, planning, making decisions and resisting negative behaviour
• A commitment of learning.

BBBS distinguishes itself from other mentoring programmes by its rigorous approach to initial assessment, ongoing supervision and support for young people and adults involved in the matches.

Friendship
The young person and adult volunteer are matched based on common interests and personality. The 'match' meets once a week for a year and together they decide on the type of activities that they would like to do. Activities include; watching a football game, having a chat, playing sport, listening to music, going for a walk, etc.

Background
The BBBS programme began in the United States of America in 1904. It is the oldest and best-known mentoring programme in America with over 500 affiliated programmes catering for over 100,000 one-to-one relationships between a volunteer adult and a young person.
The programme began in Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Roscommon) in 2000 and is affiliated to the Big Brothers Big Sisters International Organisation, which has developed programmes in 37 countries throughout the world.

School BBBS:
The BBBS programme operates in two different settings; community and school. The school programme operates within the school environment. The big brothers/big sisters are senior students and the little brothers/sisters are first/second year students. They meet up once a week in the school and take part in activities that are available to them in the school; play board games, eat lunch together, play sports, have a chat….

The programme is based on the simple idea of friendship. It is within this friendship that the young person can learn and develop skills in decision-making, communication, assertiveness, taking responsibility, etc. It is also an opportunity for a young person to gain support and advice from an adult in a friendly and caring environment.

Volunteer to Become a Big Brother Big Sister
The BBBS programme is continuously looking for adult volunteers. The programme provides volunteers, from various backgrounds and of various ages, with a chance to share their life experiences and interests with a young person. Volunteers who apply to the programme will be screened and if accepted onto the programme will receive ongoing training and support from professional staff.

Volunteer and make a difference in the life of a young person