BBBS Lac La Biche

Community Big Brothers Big Sisters Program

The Community Big Brothers Big Sisters program is one mentor (Big) and one mentee (little) spending time together building a friendship based on trust, support, common interests, and fun!  The match (volunteer and child) spends that one on one time out in the community with each other for about 1-2 hours weekly or biweekly (depending on availability and scheduling between the volunteer and family). The focus is on friendship and connecting youth to broader experiences, opportunities and networks.  The match can participate in a wide range of activities such as going to parks, attending festivals and community events, bowling, baking, arts and crafts etc. We do encourage matches to focus on low or no cost activities in order to make the relationship affordable over the long period of time for both the volunteer and family.     Volunteer Bigs (Mentors) are asked to be able to give a minimum of one hour a week or every other week for the duration of a year. Volunteers in this program are meeting youth out in the community evenings or week-ends.

In School Mentoring Program

The In School Mentoring Program is a way to get involved with a child. It allows volunteers (mentors) to share time with a child in their school during the school day. Mentors meet with their littles (students) following the 20-20-20 rule: 20 minutes of getting to know each other and catching up, 20 minutes of school work or reading, and 20 minutes of free time. In addition to friendship, the focus is on literacy, social support and classroom support. Volunteers in this program are meeting youth in their schools during the school day (lunch hours even!). Matches in this program do not meet over the summer. Great opportunity for businesses to support their employees to get involved in a local volunteer program, and only have to give up an hour of their time each week!

Teen Bigs

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lac La Biche in partnership with local schools, supervises a teen mentoring program – matching high school teens to elementary youth during school hours. Teen mentors are trained and matched with elementary school children that would benefit from the relationship with a teen mentor.  Teen mentoring has increased in many communities throughout Canada, and has increased greatly in capacity within Lac La Biche.  Youth matched in this type of program show growth in academic engagement, healthy relationships and increased self-confidence and self-esteem.   

Any high schools interested in learning more, please contact Lori Beniuk at 780.623.0380 or via email at lori.beniuk@bgcbigs.ca .

Go Girls and Game On!

 These group programs are new to Lac La Biche and area schools in fall 2021.   It is run in partnership with schools and based on school referrals. 

Go Girls! is a group mentoring program geared to girls in grades 5-8 that focuses on physical activity, balanced eating and self-esteem. The single, most important goal of the program is to positively shape the lives of young women and girls by helping them build a positive self-image – setting them on a path to reach their full potential in life.   The Go Girls! program consists of seven to nine mentoring sessions, held over a 7-10 week period, within school facilities. Each 1.0-1.5 hour-long session is loosely structured around four themes: physical activity, healthy eating, self-esteem, and communication skills.  

Game On! is a group mentoring program for providing boys (geared as well to the grade 5-8 youth) with information and support to make informed choices about a range of healthy lifestyle practices. Through non-traditional physical activities, complemented with healthy eating support, participants are engaged in life skills, communication, and emotional health discussions designed to engage participants in the pursuit of life-long healthy lifestyles.    Game On!, similar to Go Girls! consists of seven to nine mentoring sessions, held over a 7-10 week period, within school facilities.