We are an organization dedicated to helping in the development of children growing up in primary lone-parent families.

There are over 950,000 boys and girls in Canada who live with one parent. Not all of them need or want an adult in their lives, but many do. These are the children we serve.

Big Brothers and Sisters of Canada has developed to the point where today there are approximately 180 agencies across the county. Almost 3/4 of them are joint Big Brother/Big Sister agencies. Each agency has a Board of Directors made up of a cross-section of members of the community. These Boards employ staff, including social workers, who carry on the day to day casework of the agencies.

A Big Brother or Sister is an adult from any walk of life, married or single, with or without children, who volunteers about four hours each week as a friend to a child.

A Little Brother or Sister is a child, generally between the ages of 6 and 16, growing up in a lone-parent family. To be in the program the boy or girl must want a Big Brother or Sister as a friend. The parent of the Little Brother or Sister must want the friendship for the child too. (A Big Brother or Sister is affectionately known in our organization as a "Big" and the young friend, a "Little").

Our goal is a good match that meets the child's needs. That is why we take great care in screening potential Big Brothers and Sisters. All prospective volunteers are carefully interviewed, and a thorough inquiry is done to ensure that they are reliable, caring adults. We get to know the child and his or her family, carefully noting likes, dislikes, temperment, interests, age and personality.

Then it is the caseworker's job to decide which Big and Little make the best "match"...and the achievement of a good match is a matter of great pride among our staff.

After the Big and Little meet, the caseworker stays in touch to provide any needed help as they establish their friendship.

Our focus is on prevention of problems. Success can be seen through better school work, improved behavior, or sometimes it is as simple as seeing a smile that was not there before. For example, a study to determine the long term impact of our work on Little Brothers showed more than 80% graduated from High School. This compares to about 60% of the general population.

Nothing. They are volunteers along with many others who help the organization to operate.

Volunteers are expected to be responsible and careful when sharing activities with their young friends so that potentially dangerous or hurtful situations are avoided.

Some incidental costs may be incurred on outings, but volunteers are not expected to spend a lot of money on the child. Friendship cannot be bought.

A minimum commitment of a year or two is expected but many matches carry on for a number of years.