Kids might not be thinking of September just yet, but Big Brothers Big Sisters Niagara is — the organization that provides mentoring programs to support children and youth is once again preparing to help them as they return to school.
When Big Brothers Big Sisters Niagara held a gala this spring to thank volunteers celebrate a year of accomplishments, executive director Erin Graybiel said 2023 was “a monumental year” for Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in Niagara, and that by amalgamating Niagara programs, it had been able to help 900 children and youth between the ages of six to 18 in 2023. It also made it possible for them to offer more services.
BIG Start, a program offered by BBBS for the first time last August, has two components it will repeat this summer. They will have drop-off locations at the Pen Centre to collect donations of new backpacks, lunch boxes, and school supplies — they were able to help 249 youth start school with new supplies last September.
And also new last year, they were able to give 58 young people a $200 gift card to shop at the Glendale Avenue shopping centre for whatever they needed to go back to school. That was for most of them a completely new experience, says BBBS director of services Ashley Dunseith Sinclair. Their goal this year is to exceed those numbers, but will depend on the donations of money and school supplies collected, she says.
As they did last summer, the organization will have a bus parked inside the Pen Centre, supplied by Switzer-Carty Transportation, beginning next Thursday, Aug. 1 and onsite until Aug. 20. It will be parked in the event court by Mark’s Work Warehouse, between Walmart and Sport Chek. There will be donation bins set up as well.
“The shopping experience really helps kids,” she says. “They’ve never been able to buy new pairs of shoes or new outfits. It builds up their confidence and helps them to start school on the right foot.”
Most of the young people who take part in the shopping trip Aug. 24 will go with their mentor, a Big Brother or Big Sister volunteer, she says, but not all of them will have a Big, as kids and BBBS refer to them, or their Big might be away, in which case they will be paired up with a staff member or other volunteer.
Some of the responses from kids last year, provided by BBBS, included “I made out like a bandit. Thank you,” sent by Luca. Or from mentee Alex, “I bought a nice shirt and jacket for when I get cold.”
“I bought a pair of shoes I’d been wanting for two years,” said Lauren, and “I had 30 things on my list and I got them all,” from Olivia.
But not all were able to accomplish what Olivia did, says Dunseith Sinclair. “It’s like holding a piece of gold in their hands,” but some of them learned lt disappeared pretty quickly.
Before this summer’s shopping trip, “we want to talk a little about budgeting, putting some thought into what they need and how much it will cost, and really being intentional in what they spend their money on.”
There will also be a chance for mentors, staff or volunteers to talk to the parents or guardians, she says. “If it’s really shoes they need, let’s make sure that’s the priority.”
They have an application process to determine which kids need help, but in addition, “we have a good sense of our families and what they need.”
Niagara-on-the-Lake resident Joan King has been a volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters for about 15 years, most recently volunteering to work with kids through the in-school mentoring program. A retired teacher, King says she likes meeting with kids who need extra support one-on-one, sometimes helping them with their school work, but often just talking.
Last year she mentored a girl who participated in the BIG Start program. King said the young girl loved being handed a gift certificate to make her own choices, although she quickly learned $200 doesn’t go far. Her mom went with her, said King, and was able to do a bit of shopping with her daughter when the $200 ran out. “That’s a big deal for a girl who goes to school with kids who are much better off than she is,” King said, who also understood the joy it brought to the girl’s mother to be able to share that experience with her daughter, although that is not usually the case.
Bunita Excellent, a Thorold mother of eight children, six still involved in BBBS programs, was grateful to have the opportunity to talk about the organization and all it has done for her and her family. She acknowledges right off the top hers is an unusual situation.
Her kids are between the ages of nine and 24, all with the same father, who has not been in their lives for some time, she explains.
From an early age, they suffered abuse and trauma, and at one point, they lost the home she was renting in a fire, along with all their possessions.
She received help from BBBS when she a child, and with no family left of her own, she has raised her children mostly as a single mom.
“I never had any positive guidance growing up for how to be a parent,” she says. “I’ve had to wing it for them.”
BBBS has been an enormous help, and “has gone above and beyond any expectations with all they’ve done for us,” she adds.
Excellent says her oldest has made a good life for herself. She has worked since she was 16, is a college graduate, and opened a business. “She is brilliant. She’s accomplished. For everything she went through, she’s phenomenal.”
She is extremely proud of all her children, she says. “It astonishes me at every single turn, how accomplished they are.”
She becomes emotional when she speaks about Big Brothers Big Sisters, the support they’ve given her and her children, and the opportunities her kids have had because of their programs. It has allowed them to witness and establish health relationships, in some cases being treated as part of their Bigs’ families. They were treated to a day on Clifton Hill, are able to attend summer camps and be part of sports programs, and now, there’s BIG Start.
“There has been so much that is positive for my children,” she says, talking about the many experiences they’ve had that are just not available to children of families who are struggling financially.
When Bigs have come into their lives and then left for various reasons, staff talk to the kids and turn it into an opportunity to learn to accept disappointment and move on, rather than internalize it, she says. “That kind of positive input, that support system and positivity helps the whole family."
Last year all her children were chosen to take part in the BIG Start back-to-school program. “It was absolutely amazing, really fun for the kids to go and shop with their Bigs. We don’t ever get the chance to go shopping at the Pen, to go to the store and buy new shoes and new clothes. They’ve never had new back-to-school outfits. We always go to thrift shops and my kids don’t mind that, but as they get older they see other kids with new shiny shoes and it gets harder. Being able to do that themselves gave them confidence.”
This year, Excellent says she hopes there will be enough backpacks for her kids to receive one. She hasn’t heard about the gift certificates and shopping trip yet.
“But If we’re offered that opportunity I will politely refuse it. We were so blessed to be part of it last year, and it would be nice for a new family to experience that.”
She becomes emotional when she talks of her kids, and explains they have learned that “at times we struggle and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, and other times we have an abundance of things, but it’s okay either way, it’s just another day.”
“I’m so proud of them,” she continues. “My children are incredibly giving. They still remember and talk about going shopping with their Bigs, and they will be happy to know other kids will experience that this year.”
BBBS has a page online for donations to the back-to-school program, and Pathstone, which has a space at the Pen for mental health clinics held Mondays and Fridays, will also accept donations.
There is an opportunity for those who drop off school supplies to win a prize package worth almost $500, says Dunseith Sinclair, with a ballot box at the customer service desk at the Pen.
To donate online click here.
To learn more about BBBS and the BIG Start program click here
