Honoring National Mentoring Month, BBBSKY makes call for more community mentors
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — January is National Mentoring Month. The goal is to recruit new mentors by raising awareness about how important these relationships are.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana is an organization dedicated to connecting young people to positive role models.
“It’s really powerful and makes a huge difference,” said Gary Friedman, the CEO for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana.
The program focuses on four main areas—youth violence prevention, education, mental health and wellness and child abuse prevention. They tackle these tough issues sometimes by simply listening and having fun.
"The difference that it can make... by taking them to a ball game or going to dinner or reading a book or taking them to the arts or anything like that can not only change lives [but] save lives,” said Friedman. “It’s not hard. You don’t have to be perfect. In fact, sometimes the more adversity you’ve been through in your life, sometimes makes you that much stronger of a mentor.”
The program is designed to help young people 7 to 25 years old. Friedman said matches last around four years, on average.
Right now, there’s a waitlist of young boys interested in the program so men are needed as big brothers. If you’re interested in being a Big Brother or Big Sister, you can learn more here: bbbsky.org/be-a-big.
