Page 6 - MidWeek - May 10, 2023

6 MIDWEEK MAY 10, 2023
In 2015, a 7-year-old child named John was paired with a mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. At the time, he was dealing with the loneliness of not having a father in his life. He was withdrawn, unhappy and preferred the comfort of video games over playing outside. Over the past eight years, John’s mentor has provided friendship and en- couraged him. John now en- joys surfing with his mentor, and is responsible and con- siderate. He’s doing well in school with a 3.9 GPA and his mother credits his mentor for changing his life trajectory.
Our mission at Big Broth-
ers Big Sisters Hawai‘i is to build and support relation- ships to ignite the biggest number of possible futures for Hawai‘i’s youth. Found- ed locally in 1963, the pro- gram originally started as a way to address recidivism in the juvenile justice sys- tem. Since then, research has shown that mentoring builds self-confidence and self-es- teem, and fosters resilience. Similar to John, many youth and families are seeking this type of support but don’t know where to find it, or lack access to mentoring friend- ships. Our program creates a much-needed bridge.
This year, we’re very ex-
cited to restart our school mentoring program. We’re able to do this with the sup- port of U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and the federal funding he brought to Hawai‘i. Our pro- grams will be offered free of charge to students in 23 Title I Elementary schools on O‘ahu, Maui and Kaua‘i. Our school programs provide greater access to mentoring those identified by school counselors as needing social and emotional support.
to make a difference for a child. If anyone is interested to learn more, they can go to our website bbbshawaii.org to schedule an inquiry call where we provide more in- formation.
Celebrating Six Decades Of Mentorship With Aloha
By Tyler Kurashige, COO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawai‘i
The greatest need we have is for our volunteer mentors. They come from all back- grounds and life experienc- es, but the one commonality is that they all care and want
If you can’t volunteer but want to help support our mission, we have fundraisers throughout the year. Cele- brate our 60th anniversary with us at our “Mentoring with Aloha” Gala on Oct. 6 at ‘Alohilani Resort Waikīkī.
Information on events and other ways to support can also be found by emailing info@bbbshawaii.org. You can also all 808-521-3811 and visit bbbshawaii.org.
Youth Ryan and mentor Glen Duval at the ‘Ohana Day event.
PHOTO COURTESY BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS HAWAI‘I
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