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One
of Big Brothers Big Sisters matches: Rachel Rains of Houston and her
Little Sister, Shelby Hoskins daughter of Amanda Platfoot of Minster
wearing their masks to stay healthy.
Big Buddies Program to start on Time
Big Brothers Big Sisters is announcing they are on track to still have
their Big Buddies program that starts mid-October every year. Big
Buddies is a program that has been extremely beneficial for our youth
in the program. Big Buddies involves high school freshmen, sophomores,
juniors, and senior volunteers who show up two times per month to
mentor elementary students. During these meetings, high school
students, under the supervision of Big Brothers Big Sisters staff, work
with one or two children on different educational and recreational
activities.
These activities consist of a curriculum that is set before the
sessions start for the year. Curriculum for the 2020-20201 school year
will utilize social emotional learning strategies to benefit all areas
of our lives. Social Emotional Learning is defined as the process
through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set
and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish
and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
This curriculum is set in hopes to teach our littles in the program all
about each one of these aspects and the importance of practicing this
in real life.
With all the uncertainties that have been going on this year we are
thankful to be able to continue our Bug Buddies program. With that
being said, we will be taking safety protocols to keep all involved
safe and healthy. Our Big Buddies staff plans to have a baggie of
supplies for each individual student. The supplies with be cleaned
before it is placed in the bags and cleaned after every session for
safety measures. These baggies will have each student’s individual name
on it, so they stay separate for each student. During the programs we
will be sure to do our best to practice social distancing guidelines,
wear face mask coverings and clean down all surfaces that will be used.
Along with planning the Big Buddies program in person, our staff is
arranging a virtual option for Big Buddies. The virtual option gives us
the ability to continue to serve those students who have chosen to do
online learning with their school work as well. This virtual option
will still consist of Big’s and Little’s logging on at a certain day
and time to be able to communicate and do activities with our Social
Emotional Learning curriculum.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Shelby & Darke County, a United Way
supported agency, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help
children reach their full potential, which we do by matching children
with volunteers to develop and nurture quality relationships. The
relationship is meant to guide each child towards becoming a confident,
competent, and caring individual. During this time, we are not doing
recruitment but will take any contact information from individuals who
would like to join the program in the future. Once things open back up
to a more normal routine we will reach out to these individuals to
begin the process, but due to safety protocol we are keeping our groups
smaller in nature to begin with. Anyone interested in becoming a
volunteer may call the office at 937 -492-7611, 937-547-9622 or log on
to the agency website at www.bigbrobigsis-shelbydarke.org
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