Our Young Leaders Society Mentors United Kickoff was a huge success!
United Way of Northwest Georgia's Young Leaders Society has established a mentoring partnership with United Way Community Partner, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Northwest Georgia Mountains.
We have 11 Young Leaders Society members who have made the commitment to dedicate spending time with Valley Point Middle School 6th grade students.
The Mentors (Big Buddies) will meet with their Little Buddies on a regular basis through the 2019-2020 school year with the goal of following them throughout their middle school years and beyond.
For our kickoff party we had pizza and a cookie cake, which the middle school students LOVED! Who wouldn't love that??
It was a fun way for Mentors to be able to meet their Buddy for the first time and learn more about each other through ice breakers and the common love for pizza!
The Mentors give the Little Buddies someone to confide in and to look up to.
Overall, the Little Buddies do better in school and at home because of their relationship with their Big Buddies. And at a time in their lives where even small choices can change the course of their future,
the Little Buddies have a positive influence in their lives to help them avoid violence and substance abuse in the long term.
Some statistics that show the impact of the Big Buddy Little Buddy mentorship program on a national level include:
- 46% of Littles are less likely to begin using illegal drugs
- 27% of Littles are less likely to begin using alcohol
-52% of Littles are less likely to skip school-33% of Littles are less likely to hit someone
(https://www.bbbs.org/impact/)
You never know the impact you might have on the youth within our community.
How will you help build better futures?
To learn more about our Mentors United program and how you can get involved email savannah.bearden@ourunitedway.org