2400 Reading Road
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Site-Based Mentoring, Adopt-A-School
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati’s mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. The Dater Foundation supported Site-Based Mentoring. In 2020, 347 children were served in this program, not just three or four times in the year, but on an ongoing basis, for deep and purposeful connections that change lives. Specifically, a volunteer mentor (Big) is matched with an enrolled and eligible child (Little) between the ages of 6 and 18 years old. The match meets once a week, and as a result of being in these supportive mentoring matches, Littles from low-income, single-parent families, strengthen their social-emotional abilities, increase their ability to resist risky behaviors and improve their academic-related competencies. As a direct response to COVID in 2020 and the corresponding business, work and school shut-down, BBBS professional staff shifted all ongoing match get-togethers to an online platform. This enabled the continuation of support to existing matches during a time when the children and youth in the community most needed sustained connection and hope.
In addition, BBBS staff focused on supporting our Littles and their families with access to critical emergency services including food and rent assistance, mental health services including emergency interventions, navigating unemployment processes, and interventions with 15 schools to ensure children had access to academic supports.
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