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OUR IMPACT
Over the past decade there has been an increase in Wood County
families with children headed by a single parent. Some of the
single parent families involved in our program face the heavy
burden of falling below the federal poverty level. These children
often lack self-confidence, have a poor self-image and low
self-esteem. The children often have limited exposure or access to
recreational, educational, social and cultural activities. Big
Brothers Big Sisters' one-to-one youth mentoring has been shown
to have a significant and positive impact on the lives of children,
according to the first ever nationwide impact study of a mentoring
organization.
A comprehensive survey conducted by Public/Private Ventures (1995),
a Philadelphia-based national research organization, found that
children matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister for 18 months
were:
- 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
- 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
- 53% less likely to skip school
- 33% less likely to hit someone
These results are accomplished by increasing positive attributes
in children, which research shows increases their ability to make
positive choices. In Central Wisconsin (2004), evaluations show
significant increased in positive attributes for children matched
with a Big:
- 72.3% reported an increase in the child's self-confidence
- 55.0% reported child is better able to open up to their parent or Big
- 45.0% reported better school performance
- 45.0% reported child has better relationships with their peers
- 40.0% reported the child is better able to accept responsibility
Of the young people taking part in the study, more than 60 percent
were boys. Approximately one-half of the children were matched with
a Big Brother or Big Sister. The others were assigned to a waiting
list. The matched children met with their Big Brother or Big Sister
about three times a month for an average of one year. Researchers
found that after 18 months of spending time with their Bigs, the
Little Brothers and Little Sisters were...
Interesting finding... Big Brothers Big Sisters of America recently
compared different types of school-based mentoring programs and
found that those that focused on social/emotional development had
a greater positive impact on children's grades than those programs
focused on tutoring! (2005)
Feel free to contact us
with questions and/or comments.
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