Arepresentative from Big Brothers and Big Sisters will be on hand to talk about the organization, which just raised more than $95,000 in its Bowl for Kids’ Sake fund-raiser. We will talk about how people can get involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Moderator

Good afternoon. This is Dennis Anderson, managing editor of the Lawrence Journal-World. I will be moderating today’s chat with Jaimie Duguid, program director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County. Big Brothers Big Sisters recently raise more than $96,000 for programs this year. Welcome Jaimie.

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

Thank you very much for inviting me.

Moderator

Please describe the services that Big Brothers Big Sisters offers.

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

We have two basic programs for our volunteers and clients right now. Our basic program is called the Community Based program, where Bigs and Littles spend 3-4 hours a week together. Then we also have a Site-Based program where volunteers meet with a Little during the school year at a child’s school site for 30 minutes a week.

Moderator

What does it take to be a Big Brother or Big Sister?

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

The process to become a Big volunteer starts with attending a Volunteer Orientation. Anyone who is interested in becoming a Big (or learning more about BBBS) can come to the BBBS office on Tuesdays at 5:15 PM or Wednesdays at noon for a 20-30 minute orientation. Once that happens, we have an application that needs to be filled out, we run 5 background checks, do a handful of references, and a screening interview. For those interested in the Community Based program, we also conduct a home visit. The entire process can take as little as 2 weeks.

Moderator

And how can a child get involved in the program?

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

The kids, or Littles, in our program are either referred to our agency through the schools or other community sources or have parents/guardians that have heard about our program and believe that it’s something they’d like to get their child involved with. If we receive a referral for a child, we contact that child’s parent/guardian and tell them about the services we have to offer. If they decide to move forward with enrolling their child in BBBS, we have them attend an orientation and fill out an application as their first step. Then, just like our volunteers, we conduct interviews with the children and the parents/guardians and obtain information from the schools about the kids. Our goal is to know as much as possible about the kids we have waiting on our wait-list right now so that we can make the best matches possible. That’s why our screening process, for the Bigs and the Littles, is so very thorough.

Moderator

What are some activities Bigs and Littles do together?

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

We are lucky to live in such a lively and supportive community. Matches that are a part of our Community Based program have a great variety of options for match activities. Several businesses in the Douglas County area are members of our BBBS Discount list and provide their services at a discount – Hollywood Theater, Sunfire Ceramics, the Lawrence Arts Center, Googols of Fun, and several restraunts. But, what we like to tell our volunteers is that lots of time the most fun a match can have is just spending time together doing the things that the volunteer normally does. For example, my Little Sister loves to go grocery shopping with me, loves to make dinner with me, and LOVES to eat with me. Those are definitely things that I need to do each week anyways, so why not take her with me. We have lots of matches that spend their time hanging out at the library working on homework together, going to the park and shooting hoops, working on projects together at the Bigs home… the options are endless.

Moderator

We have some questions from readers.

justthefacts

How big is your paid staff and how many (if any) of your staff are social or case workers?

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

Right now we have 15 staff at the Douglas County agency – several of which are part time. We have 2 full time Case Managers (workers) and 5 part-time Case Managers. Then we also have 2 full time Program Directors that also deal with Case Management issues.

Dayna38

Who is the most famous person the Lawrence chapter has ever had participate in an event? and do you think a big name helps or hurts local participation?

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

Last year Bill Self was our headlining speaker at our “Little Moments” luncheon. I definitely think that having individuals, like Bill Self, backing our agency is a great thing.

Moderator

How many children do you have waiting for a Big Brother or Big Sister?

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

We currently have 184 kids waiting for a Big – 60% of those kids are boys.

Moderator

What kind of volunteers are you looking for? Is there a certain age range?

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

Good people, caring people, real people. I think that a lot of times people are intimiated by the idea of becoming a mentor because they believe that it requires that they be perfect/flawless, and that’s just not the case. We are looking for individuals who have the time and desire to commit to being a child’s friend, mentor, advocate, for a year. The only age range we have set in place right now is that volunteers need to be 16 years old to volunteer for our Site-Based Bigs in Schools program and 18 to be a Community Big. Our oldest volunteer is in her mid-80’s right now.

Moderator

How can people reach you if they have questions or want to volunteer?

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

They can get in touch with us several ways. We love walk-ins, so if they’re ever in the area, anyone can feel free to just drop by and pick up some information. We are located at 1525 W 6th Street, in the Scotch Plaza. Or, they can call us at 785-843-7359 (or 800-488-2545). Or, the can reach us via the web at www.mentoringmagic.org and inquire about our programs. If anyone wants to, they can also email me at jduguid@ksbbbs.org.