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Thank you for your interest in
becoming a Big!
BBBS Programs
MINIMUM ONE YEAR COMMITMENT for
the following programs:
 Community Based-BIGS spend 2- 4 times a month with their
Little doing fun activities
 Amachi- Seeking mentors for children of an incarcerated parent.
 Project Big- This program helps 4th and 5th students at Berryhill, Bruns
Ave, Hidden Valley, Reid Park, and Westerly Hills elementary focus on
academics and positive achievement in school.
 School Based – BIGS meet at a local Elementary School during
the school day once a week
AMACHI LITTLE
• Struggles with trust issues
• Struggles with judgment against incarcerated
parent/unconditional love.
• May have extremely low self-esteem
• May feel they are destined to follow the path of their parents
and/or disadvantaged, partly from outside influences or their
own perception
• May struggle with feelings of hopelessness
Children of incarcerated parents are 70% more likely
to be incarcerated themselves……Unless,…
Amachi Big [Volunteer]
• Give a sense of hope for a brighter future by
empowering them to make choices that will
lead to a less limited future.
• Give extra attention because of the
contributing factors with an Amachi child.
• Disapprove the assumptions and stereotypes
Project Big…
Pick students up from home
Partner with parents for child’s success
Not a tutor/teacher assistant
Can assist with school work
Can communicate with teachers
School Liaison present
Communities in Schools can assist with school or
community issues
SCHOOL BASED BIGS…
No contact outside of school
Not a tutor/teacher assistant
Can assist with school work
Honor school rules/agency rules
Activity bin provided with games- have fun!
Can communicate with teachers
School Liaison present
Volunteer Enrollment Process
Written application
Three references
Professional
decision of
eligibility and
program placement
Orientation/Online
training
Background check
($25.00 fee)
Match
In-person interview
Questions about
home environment
Ongoing Training
Big Brothers Big Sisters Staff
• Enrollment and Match
Specialist (EMS): Your
EMS will guide you
through the enrollment
process and help make
the best match possible
for you.
• Once accepted into
program will contact you
every 90 days until
matched.
• Match Support Specialist
(MSS): Your MSS will be
your liaison to the agency
after you meet your Little.
• Will contact you every 30
days during your first year
being matched to ensure
that the match is going
well and answer any
questions you may have.
ROLE OF A BIG
EXPECTATIONS OF A BIG
 Be consistent
 Visit 2-4 times a month and maintain regular
communication with Little, his/her parent/ guardian
 Monthly communication with Match Support
Specialist, update if contact information changes
 Listen, have fun, take time to get know this new
person
 Be involved and participate in agency activities
 If problems occur contact Match Support Specialist
WHAT A BIG IS
Must be a friend
Is consistent and dependable
Is flexible
Puts a child’s safety and well-being
first
Takes an interest in his/her Little’s life
WHAT A BIG IS NOT
A parent /guardian substitute
Financial support – it is everyone’s
responsibility to pay their own way in the
match.
A counselor or therapist
A babysitter
Transportation for the family
ROLE OF A PARENT
EXPECTATIONS OF A PARENT
 Be consistent
 Regularly communicate with his/her child’s
Big and assigned Match Support Specialist
 Work toward a solution for any issues that
arise and make sure the agency is aware of
the issues
 Arrange to pay for his/her child’s expenses
for match activities
UNDERSTANDING OUR LITTLES
• All of our Bigs and Families come from
different cultural and socio-economic
backgrounds. This is a great experience for
celebrating diversity and learning about a
culture that may be different than yours.
PARTNERING WITH PARENTS
Working with single family
homes
 Social economic
characteristics
 Stereotyping/Judging
Reporting of Child Abuse and
Neglect
Big Brothers Big Sisters staff members are required to
report any suspected abuse or neglect of a child. Our
staff are trained to respond if a child tells them about
abuse.
If you have any further questions or would like more
information on violence prevention, please don’t
hesitate to ask our staff for additional resources.
If at any time you suspect that your child is being harmed,
please contact your MSS for support.
AGES & STAGES
5-7 year olds
Ages and Stages 5-7 year olds
Eager to learn, easily fatigued, short periods of
interest
Are very active and need frequent breaks from
tasks. They like to do things that are fun and
involve use of energy
Can be very competitive. May cheat at games
Are alert to feelings of others, but are unaware of
how their own actions affect others
Have difficulty making decisions
AGES & STAGES
8-10 year olds
Ages and Stages 8-10 year olds
 Interested in people, aware of differences, willing to
give more to others but expects more
 Are very active and need frequent breaks from tasks to
do things that are fun for them and involve use of
energy
 Being accepted by friends becomes quite important
 Are very sensitive to praise and recognition. Feelings
are hurt easily
 Wide discrepancies in reading ability
Child Safety
Seatbelt and Child Safety Seat State Law Requirements
 There is a NC law that requires children under 8 years old or
under 80 pounds to ride in a safely seat or booster seat. Kids
must be secured with both a shoulder and lap belt combination.
The penalty for not having a child in a booster seat will be a $25
fine, $100 court fees, and 2 driver's license points. If you have
any questions or concerns, or you would like your Match
Support Specialist to contact your Little’s parent/guardian
regarding this matter, please let them know
 If your Little is under 12 years old, they must sit in the backseat
of your vehicle with a secured seatbelt
AGES & STAGES
11- 13 year olds
Ages and Stages 11-13 year olds
Testing limits – Know-it-all attitude
Are very concerned with their appearance and are
very self-conscious about growth
Being accepted by friends becomes quite
important
Can encounter conflicts between friend’s rules and
parent’s rules
Want more independence
AGES & STAGES
14-16 year olds
Ages and Stages 14-16 year olds
Vulnerable, emotionally insecure, fear of rejection,
mood swings
Very concerned with their appearance and are selfconscious about growth
Feel a real need to conform
Are caught between being a child and an adult
Can better understand moral principles
Child Safety
 There are no overnight visits allowed during the first year
you are matched. After you have been matched one year an
overnight consent form is required prior to an overnight visit
 Information about your Little and their family is to be kept
between you, the family and your MSS
 Review all medical issues, allergies and illnesses with your
Little’s parent/guardian
 Be careful of becoming overly involved with your Little and
their family- ensure you follow BBBS guidelines
 Do not sign consent forms on behalf of parents, even with
verbal permission
Child Safety
 The following activities are considered unusual and require the unusual
consent form prior to the activity.
 Swimming
 Boating
Horseback riding
 Out of Town
 Flying
 Motorcycle riding/ ATV’S
 Backpacking
 Camping
 Repelling
Building
Rock Climbing
Zip line
Child Safety
If you suspect your Little is in danger, outside of
8am-5pm Monday-Friday, contact the police
• Child states will hurt self
• Child states will hurt someone else
• Child shares that they are being hurt by someone
BIGS are required by law to report any suspicions
of abuse to BBBS
BBBS reports all suspicions to DSS
If your Little discloses abuse, listen. Do not
question them, this can effect any investigation
BBBS is not trained to investigate abuse
Working with Match Support
• Contacts Made:
–
–
–
–
In-person
Phone
e-mail
letter
• Surveys
– Returned to MSS with-in one week
• Trainings
– Hot Topics
• Activities
– Notice through e-mail
– Flyers
• Web Page
– Bigs only section with activity ideas and updates
– Contact MSS for username and password
Reasons Files Close
• Failure to return/respond to telephone calls/e-mails from your EMS
by the deadline
•
Missed two scheduled appointment
•
Missed a scheduled match twice
•
Failure to submit necessary paperwork
•
Application denied due to failure to meet BBBSGC guidelines
•
Other
Scenarios
Scenario 1
Kim and Anita, age 14 have been
matched for 9 months. The match
has been going very well and Kim
not only loves her Little Sister but
her Little Sister’s Grandmother
who takes care of her. Grandma
and Anita have very few resources
and do without many extras.
Grandmother is often sick and
Anita has nothing to do. Over
time, Kim has been taking Anita
out more and more. She has also
gotten her some new school
clothes and thrown a big birthday
party. Kim called her Match
Support Specialist to say she is
getting overwhelmed by the time
she is putting into the match. She
said she has been busy with her
job and her husband. She loves
her match but finds it harder and
harder to see them.
Can this be resolved?
How could this have been
avoided?
Answers
•
The situation can be resolved by having a
discussion with Grandmother and Little Sister
explaining that Kim’s time has become limited
and she can only spend the BBBS required time
with her.(2-4 times per month)
•
The situation could have been avoided by
discussing the situation with Match Support
Specialist and following program guidelines.
•
It is not healthy to become overly involved
because can lead to unrealistic expectations by
both the caregiver and Little.
Answers
Scenario 2
Frank and Bobby, age 10 have
been matched for six months.
Their match has been fun and
seemingly alright. Frank has
avoided communication as much
as possible with Bobby’s mother
because she is always unloading
her family problems on him. This
made Frank very uncomfortable.
The mother felt Frank didn’t care
for her, or respect her. Neither
Frank nor the mother had ever
said anything about this to their
Match Support Specialist for
fearing of causing trouble. Both
thought the problem would
correct it’s self in time.
What do you think that problem
is?
What can be done now?
•
The problem:
– Per BBBS guidelines a parent is not to share
personal issues/concerns with the Big that
do not pertain to the child and the match.
– Communication is key and issues should be
reported immediately to Match Support
Specialist
•
What can be done now:
– Contact Match Support Specialist who will
refresh the match on program guidelines
– Big can discuss with parent that his role is to
be a friend and support for the Little
We hope you found this training to be
informative. Please feel free to write down any
questions you have, and discuss with your
Enrollment and Match Specialist during your
interview.
 Please complete the quiz sent via e-mail and bring it to
your interview along with your completed enrollment
paperwork.
Thank you. We look forward to working
with
you and your Little!