Students with a “Big Brother” or “Big Sister” Mentor in School Show Positive Impacts;

Local Big Brothers Big Sisters Receives U.S. Department of Education Grant to Expand Programs

LANSING, Mich. (October 16, 2007) – The U.S. Department of Education awarded Big Brothers Big Sisters Michigan Capital Region with a grant for three years of $165,995 per year to help support and fund expansion of its School-Based Mentoring program through the 2009-2010 school year. The grant is one of seven awarded in Michigan, and 170 awarded nationally out of a reported 1200 applications.     

The program helps children by matching them with a caring adult mentor in a school setting.  Programs are held either during the child’s lunch hour or after school. The child and mentor may play board games, shoot hoops, visit the school library, read or just talk. The Big Brothers Big Sisters’ school-based program is one of the largest in the country, with 126,000 volunteers in schools nationwide. Locally, Big Brothers Big Sisters had programs serving over 280 children in 18 schools throughout Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, Ionia and Shiawassee counties in the 2006—2007 school year.  

In the Lansing school district last year, Big Brothers Big Sisters had formal partnerships with Bingham, Cumberland, Grand River, Riddle and Wexford schools, serving 130 kids. Writing in support of the federal grant for the agency, Dr. E. Sharon Banks, former Superintendent of the Lansing School District, said, “Each individual child has benefited in ways too numerous to count. They have grown in confidence, improved their ability to relate to peers, and developed academically. Improvements in those individual children improve the environment in their classrooms, in the lunchroom, and the hallways.”

The program’s success has created growing interest and demand, and the Department of Education grant will help meet the costs of supporting more matches in existing programs, as well as expand to six more schools this school year. In addition to the funds to support the programs, the agency needs more volunteers, especially men. “We have more and more children being referred for the program each year and many of them are boys,” said Jesse Klinger, School Program Coordinator.  “While women are terrific volunteers, many of the boys referred do not have a male role model in their lives. We need more men to volunteer. The impact of spending just a little one-on-one time having fun is tremendous.”  

Volunteers for the after-school programs are generally Juniors and Seniors from local high schools. Volunteers for the “Lunch Buddy” programs are generally from area businesses, State of Michigan offices and agencies, as well as students from Michigan State University. Klinger points out that many of the volunteers come as a group and find it to be a fun and rewarding way to have an impact on the community. “It’s also a great morale builder for any group,” she adds, “and all it takes is one lunch hour per week of their time.”       

Ed Hagan, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters Michigan Capital Region, said that the organization is already moving to address findings of the recently released national study entitled “Making a Difference in Schools: The Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring Impact Study.” The study reports positive outcomes in overall academic performance in the first year of participation.  In addition, the study found that the quality of class work improved and the number of assignments turned in increased, while serious school infractions, including visits to the principal’s office, fighting and suspensions had decreased. Students with a Big Brother or a Big Sister also reported feeling more competent academically and skipped school less often than those in the study group without a “Big.”  In late fall of the next year, students with a “Big” were found to be less likely to begin skipping school and had higher expectations that they would start and complete college. However, many of the academic improvements were not sustained, especially if the match did not continue into the second year.  

Hagan says, “We know the program makes a big difference in schools, and has tremendous impact during the school year. But we expect lasting benefits for the youth we serve, and now we know that—just as in our traditional program—the length of a match in school programs plays a large role in providing long-term impact.” To that end, the agency is taking several steps to help strengthen matches in school programs. These include providing opportunity for summer activities to bridge the gap from one school year to the next, increasing volunteer training and the level of professional support, and increasing parental involvement. “We’re committed to making a very good program even better,” said Hagan.

 About Big Brothers Big Sisters Michigan Capital Region
Big Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest and largest youth mentoring program in the United States. Big Brothers Big Sisters programs create and nurture healthy relationships for children who want and need a positive role model and friend. These relationships benefit everyone involved, including the child, the child’s family and school, the volunteer, and the entire community. For more information on Big Brothers Big Sisters programs in the community, visit www.bigimpactmidmi.com or call toll free (877) 483-7145.