September will be a busy month for the Humboldt Big Brothers Big Sisters organization (BBBS).
The month has been declared as the official BBBS month and the organization has started making big plans to promote their organization in the community.
The month kicked off early this year, with the Family Day in the Park on August 28.
"It is our way to give back to the community," said Stacey Poss, executive director of BBBS.
The Day in the Park had numerous organizations set up booths for families to enjoy, including an experiment table, Teddy Bear Clinic and ball throw.
Instead of putting on the Day in the Park alone, this year BBBS partnered with the Humboldt Regional Newcomer Centre (HRNC) to bring a cultural aspect to the day with some ethnic food.
Both BBBS and the HRNC hope to continue partnering.
The BBBS will be sitting in on a few meetings at HRNC this fall.
"(This) will let newcomer families know that our volunteers can help their children at school and act as that extended family so many of them don't have here in Canada," said Poss.
They are also planning another larger event - a barbecue in Civic Park on September 14 with some special treats for the kids.
"A national campaign to promote BBBS across Canada was made with Hershey's Chocolate," said Poss.
Not only will there be some treats from Hershey's at the barbecue, they are supporting BBBS with their Halloween candy, which will have the BBBS logo on it.
The next step in promoting their organization will be going into schools and doing some presentations and handing out brochures, saidPoss.
"We are producing new promotional material including new business cards and brochures for our In-School mentoring and general information brochure," said Poss.
They will also be discussing a few other options for school-aged children in the schools.
"We are updating and renewing group programs for pre-teen girls and boys to help with stresses and concerns," said Poss.
BBBS will also make presentations in other locations.
"We will be approaching a couple of local businesses and one organization to do a brief presentation on who we are and how people can help," said Poss.
Not only are they making plans for September, but for next year as well.
"We have a reconnection program where we go through all our files and begin contacting all the volunteers and families we have worked with in the past to give them the opportunity to reconnect and collect inspirational stories of mentoring experiences getting ready for the National Centennial year 2013," said Poss.
She is also trying to start up an Intergenerational Mentoring Program with the Senior's Centre and is working on grant applications.
Although they have many plans, one major challenge they are dealing with is finding enough volunteers to help with mentoring.
"We need mentors," said Poss. "We have three girls and seven boys on the waitlist who would really benefit from hanging out with a responsible girl or guy."
She explained that volunteers don't need to be special or a hero, just willing to give a little bit of their time to hang out with a child, doing anything from watching a movie or working on a hobby to larger outings like fishing or a hockey game.
"We make sure to match adults and children who share some of the same interests," said Poss. "This helps the match get off to a good start. Help us help children reach their full potential."
