Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ithaca and Tompkins County is a program of the Ithaca Youth Bureau and an affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
Our programs |
Staff |
Community Based Mentoring
Community Based Mentoring is the biggest aspect of what we do at BBBS. Volunteers provide Littles with one-to-one time and attention in our community. Bigs and Littles usually meet once per week for a couple of hours. During these outings, matches participate in a variety of fun, recreational, and educational activities. What matches do depends on what they like, but they each benefit from learning about each other, discovering new interests and skills, and forming a true friendship together. Each match is supported by a trained and compassionate "Match Support Specialist" who assists in breaking the ice between new volunteers and families, helping with communication and activity ideas throughout the match, and is always around to help volunteers and families with any concerns or needs they may have. The one to one attention provided by this type of relationship is of enormous value to all children, families and adult volunteers who participate in our program. We encourage all kind people with some time to dedicate to a child, to give this program a try! Saturdays at Northside Big Brothers Big Sisters has brought our Saturday recreation programming to the Northside Neighborhood in Ithaca! This program, named Northside Neighborhood Saturdays, takes place at the North Side Community Center near Conway Park in Ithaca. Any children who live in the area and are between the ages of 6-14 are welcome to come by and participate. We are working with volunteers from Ithaca College and Cornell University to bring fun and engaging activities to the children, and we will still be having outside groups, such as the Cornell Center for Materials Research and the Cornell Women's Gymnastics team, entertain and educate. The program is held on most Saturdays during the college semester, from 1-3pm. Call Joe Gibson at the IYB to learn more. |
|