Think back to your childhood and the adults who influenced you to become who you are today. The person who encouraged you to do better in school, to pursue sports or music, the person you went to for advice when things got tough. Now imagine you never met that person. Where would you be?
As the first in my family to go to college, my parents weren’t the best at helping me navigate my life beyond high school. I was fortunate to have two teachers that inspired me to achieve, both of which taught English (and I was a math nerd). I had one as a freshman and the other as a senior; both pushed me to the absolute limitsand inspired me in my most vulnerable years.
The question constantly asked in my industry is how to best change the path a child is on – and how to do it cost effectively. Research studies have been conducted and they always point in the same direction: Positive relationships with adult role models are the best method for changing the trajectory of a child’s life. For many kids from stressed households, the expectation of a stable future is low. These are kids living a life where money and food are very thin, violence is too prevalent and they would be the first in their family to graduate high school, let alone college.
But that is the business we are in: socio-economic change. Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) provides the nurturing, one-to-one relationships kids need, and we do it effectively and efficiently. Here are just some of the ways in which mentoring changes the lives of children and generations to come. Children that have or have had a mentor:
1. Have Higher High School and College Graduation Rates.
Dropping out of high school doesn’t happen all at once – it is usually a gradual disengagement that happens over time and often begins with lack of expectation of the future. A mentor starts with asking, how was your day? How was school? Did you go? They can also teach better academic skills, and help kids with everyday challenges they face on campus. Children that work with BBBS are 52% less likely to skip school than children not in the program.
It is astounding how many students in affluent Orange County have never met a high school graduate and doubt their ability to be the first. A mentor can help mentees navigate the more complex aspects of college planning, like A-G requirements, college applications, and financial aid. Of the children in our program that graduated last year: 98% graduated on-time, 70% were the first in the family to earn a high school diploma, 83% enrolled in college, and 100% credited their mentor as having the biggest influence on this statistic.
2. Are Less Likely to Harm Themselves.
I see this on a day-to-day basis all too frequently (especially among young girls). Children that have a Big are 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to begin drinking alcohol. Children in mentoring programs learn to trust adults, leading to better relationships with authority figures.
3. Act Less Violent.
Over 55% of the children in our program have already been exposed to violence, abuse and neglect. Mentoring meets kids’ basic developmental needs. Mentees in the BBBS program are 33% less likely to physically hit someone. Kids that participate in a mentoring program learn better coping skills, making them less dependent on violent outbursts. 76% of alumni surveyed said that their Big helped them learn the basics of right and wrong.1
4. Have More Confidence.
Mentors show kids that they are worth their time, that they have value. Children with positive adult relationships have more confidence in their own abilities both in school, and in life. 89% of the kids in our program have a higher sense of self worth as a result of their mentor relationship.
5. Dream Bigger Goals.
Mentoring children during their formative years changes their very trajectory. The start changing their ideas about the future, and start laying the necessary groundwork for their future success. Through BBBS, 77% of Littles set higher goals than they would have on their own because of their Bigs.1
What’s even more astonishing is the impact mentees have on the community around them. Children that go through the program positively impact their friends, families, and communities in which they live. BBBS alumni grow up to have higher levels of community engagement and volunteering than their peers.
What we’ve learned over the years at BBBS is that what matters isn’t the activities themselves, but that the children create strong and enduring relationships with their mentors. They have someone to confide in and look up to, and that makes all the difference.
Go here to learn more about becoming a mentor, and make change happen with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County.
