Volunteer Opportunities for High Schoolers

PEER-TO-PEER MENTORING IS POWERFUL

By volunteering to mentor a child at his or her elementary or middle school, you’re helping a child reach their potential. Participants in our school mentoring programs have:

Improved academic performance
Avoided risky behaviors
Shown greater confidence
Established stronger relationships

YOUR COMMITMENT

Our Role	Provide on-going case management for the volunteer mentors, youth and families that will allow for specific goals to be attained for each individual match.
School Role	Refer students for the program. Students that want and would benefit from having a professional mentor them. Recruit from Key Club, Peer counseling Club, etc.
Big Role	To build a strong, trusting mentor relationship with the student assigned to you by committing to a full year of consistent mentoring at the school on a weekly OR bi-weekly basis.
Little Role	Actively participate in their mentor relationship by sharing their needs, expressing their feelings and providing on-going feedback to their mentor, the school and BBBS case manager.

NEED TO KNOW FACTS

Application

Each high school Big must complete an application, provide parental release and go through an in-person interview with a Big Brothers Big Sisters staff member.

Group Setting

Each high school Big is paired with one youth to mentor, but will meet in a group setting with all the High School Bigs from their school.

Mentoring Sessions

The mentoring sessions will focus on: academic achievement, social skills, and positive peer relationships.

Community Service Hours

High school Bigs can obtain community service hours for mentoring if approved via their school’s administration.

Graduation Honor Cords

Big Brothers Big Sisters provides graduation cords to our high school Bigs after the following criteria is met:

Minimum of 2 academic years (1 hr/week)
No more than 3 excused absences (per academic year)
No more than 2 unexcused absences (per school year)
Minimum of 18 hours of mentoring each school year during two or more consecutive years
Cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher