To address the variety of
children's needs in our community, we support three
unique programs:
Community Match
Program
This cornerstone program
matches "Littles" (children ages 6 to 14) to "Bigs"
(volunteer adults) for a friendship of at least one
year. Our match recruitment specialist evaluates the
special needs of each child and carefully selects
adult volunteers to pair with them, based on common
interests, abilities, and personalities. With
continued support of the match support specialist,
the pairs then spend time together, normally several
hours a month, doing ordinary things they both enjoy.
The agency also sponsors regular events that all the
pairs may attend. Our well-matched pairs frequently
choose to remain friends in the program well after
the year is through.
School-Based Mentoring
Programs
Big Brothers Big Sisters
programs are becoming increasingly popular in local
schools. In these site-based programs, community
adults and teens are paired with youngsters for
weekly sessions at their schools. Activities are
provided for each supervised session. Studies
indicate that these programs reap many of the same
benefits of our traditional program. We currently
serve 300 children in the following schools:
Bath: Dike-Newell,
Fisher-Mitchell, Bath Middle School
Bowdoin: Bowdoin
Central School
Bowdoinham: Bowdoinham
Community School
Brunswick: Brunswick Jr. High, Coffin, Hawthorne, Jordan Acres, Longfellow
Georgetown: Georgetown
Central School
Harpswell: Harpswell
Island School
Topsham: Williams
Cone, Woodside, Mount Ararat Middle
Woolwich: Woolwich
Central
Bears and Cubs
The program is a partnership
effort with the Bowdoin College community. Children
participating in this program are “waiting”
for a Big in our Community Match Program. The waiting
children are paired with specially-selected college
students who then meet on campus Sunday afternoons
for activities ranging from swimming to crafts.
Upward Bound
This summer program is made
possible through the partnership of Bowdoin College
and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bath/Brunswick. This
program matches children on our wait-list with
college-bound high school students from around the
state. The matches meet on the Bowdoin College campus
where the group engages in a variety of fun and
educational projects. This program is offered during
the summer months for 6 weeks and meets every Tuesday
and Thursday afternoon.
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