November 15 at Lincoln South Rotary - Big Brothers Big Sisters

Amber and Kyle co-presented during the meeting starting with their belief that all youth have potential - we can empower youth - and that can be done through mentoring.

 

"The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves." - Stephen Spielberg

 

Giving youth the opportunity to create themselves - that is what mentoring can do. And the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) is to support one-on-one mentoring to help ignite the power and promise of young people.

 

BBBS matches adult mentors with youth age 7 to 16 in a community based program. That means that the activities can be anywhere in the community - the zoo, library, sporting event, the Lied, in a park - anywhere. It is not like some programs that are limited to mentoring within the schools. They believe there is some value in having the mentor meet the family of the mentees which is facilitated with the community-based program.

 

They presented some history, stating that Big Brothers America was started by a judge in New York. He recognized that there was an increase in the number of young men entering the criminal system through his court room. He thought a mentoring program would change the course of these youth and soon they saw a positive change.

 

About the time Big Brothers started in Lincoln the YMCA partnered with the sheriffs for the YPals program. They joined forces and then joined with Big Sisters and became Heartland Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

 

Bigs - that is what they call the mentors - come from all walks of life. There are empty-nesters, college students and parents just wanting to help. The majority are female and the majority of them are 35 to 50 years old. But there is a large number over 51 and there are mentors in the 19-24 age range.

 

They call the Mentees Littles. They generally come from families with trouble - perhaps a parent is incarcerated or maybe the family is on financial assistance of some type. They did point out that nearly 50% of the students in Lincoln are receiving free or reduced lunches - so there are many getting financial assistance. All youth are welcome - they have the opportunity to explore the community while discovering their potential. Littles join usually because a parent signed them up but others are discovered due to referrals from school or other youth service organizations.

 

Big Brothers Big Sisters uses a process to match Littles with Bigs. They look at common interests such as doing things outdoors. They look at what the little wants - such as male or female, maybe an age preference, or things they wish to do. In looking at the mentors they ask the age that they want to work with, shat they might like to do with the Little. The process is to ensure that there is a good match to ensure the most successful relationship,

 

There are currently about 28 Littles waiting for a match. 75% of those are male - looking for male mentor.

 

BBBS uses Enrollment Specialists to ensure successful matches and Support Specialists to ensure you always have someone to answer questions and provide support.

 

They conduct surveys looking at important youth development aspects to help measure the impact of the program. The last survey revealed:

92% improved/maintained emotional regulation

 

Bios:

 

Amber C. Nore is the Director of Community Engagement for Big Brothers Big Sisters Lincoln. She was a Top 5 finalist for “Excellence in Non Profit” in the 2023 Inspire Awards. She is passionate about supporting the arts and empowering youth. Amber is a proud member of Lincoln Downtown Rotary Club #14, Lincoln Sunrise Optimist Club, Lincoln Center Kiwanis, The Junior League of Lincoln and P.E.O. Chapter FG. She leads a Book Club for the Nebraska Girl Gang, bakes lasagnas for Lasagna Love and volunteers for ECHO Collective. Amber has a 25 year-old daughter named Chloe and recently adopted her 15 year-old niece, Marsiline.

Kyle Bishop is the Recruitment and Events Coordinator of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lincoln (BBBSL). Originally from Hastings, NE, he attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and earned his bachelor’s in journalism with a major in public relations & advertising. Joining BBBSL in 2021, he has worked with the team for over three years. In addition, Kyle serves as the Chair of the Lincoln Youth Mentoring Coalition and as a member of the Lincoln Young Professionals Group. In his spare time, he enjoys drawing, listening to music, watching movies/TV, and exploring Lincoln events.