The 10th annual Friendship Day put on by Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Yorkton and Area and Welcome Home Crafts yielded $2,500 for the mentoring organization.
Welcome Home Crafts provided a thousand dozen roses, which were sold out in just an hour and a half Thursday, August 23. Irma VanDebon, executive director of BBBS Yorkton credited media coverage and community spirit for the rousing success of the fundraiser.
The monies will be used to support both one-to-one and group mentoring activities.
Big Brothers Big Sisters serves 250 children in Yorkton and area annually with upward of 175 volunteers, a phenomenal per capita achievement for the area served. Vandebon says that's just typical of the region.
"It's the community-minded spirit of the people," she explained. "I think they recognize that mentoring makes a difference in a child's life. And it's fun!"
BBBS Yorkton offers volunteer opportunities for a wide range of people. Most chapters of the organization in Canada have a minimum age of 18 to volunteer (21 in the United States). VanDebon says many of the local organization's volunteers are high school students and it even ran a program in Langenburg in which Grade 8 students were paired with first graders.
"It's a real win-win situation," VanDebon said explaining the older kids get to learn leadership skills among many other benefits.
Prospective mentors can apply to volunteer by visiting the website at www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/yorkton.
