Looking back and looking forward

2019 marks 40 years of mentoring in Prince George. Since 1979, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been providing proactive youth mentoring programs to children and youth living in Prince George. The last four decades have seen many highs and some lows for our agency - we’ve made it through some serious financial challenges and have made commitments to ensure that children in Prince George who need a mentor, get a mentor. To the incredible number of sponsors, donors, volunteers, and supporters who have helped Big Brothers Big Sisters of Prince George over the last 40 years, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We’ve been humbled to see everyone in this community step up and rally for our agency, our families, and our kids; we are so proud to call Prince George our home.

In preparation for the next 40 years, we have some exciting changes.

First, our brand

September 18th is national Big Brothers Big Sisters Day, and across the country we unveil and celebrate a new look for our organization. We’re asking you, your friends, your family, your coworkers, and every Canadian to be part of something bigger. Our new brand is modern and exciting and the dream is that with more people - more volunteers, more donors - involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters, we can ignite the power and potential of thousands more young people across Canada.

When we stand together, we’re #BiggerTogether

We’ve reimagined how we do things; we’ve modernized how we look and the way we speak.

We are the new Big Brothers Big Sisters, and we create life-changing mentoring relationships to ignite the power and potential of young people.

Next, our Region

We’re standing up for our youth - not just for youth living in Prince George, but for youth throughout the region. Our vision is to serve communities who may be underserved at times, and may feel forgotten - communities who may, at times, face adversities, but who remain vibrant and strong.

We wake up on September 18th as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern BC, and we are ready to spark the biggest possible future, together.

Our complete expansion will not be immediate, as we want to ensure that it’s done in a sustainable way. Our neighbours are already facing some uncertainty when it comes to the economy and services provided in the community, and we owe it to them to do this right. We recognize that we can’t serve Northern BC alone. We need to work with our communities to build relationships, create trust, and lay down our roots.

Our agency is approaching our expansion differently than others may. We will be looking for nonprofit partners to work with in our new communities - organizations who are already working hard and have history and trust, organizations who call these communities home. We want to help them build capacity, grow their sustainability, and together ensure that children who may be facing adversities have the opportunity to achieve more.

Together, we are stronger.

our first partnership

We’re excited to announce that we will be working with the Valemount Learning Centre to offer Big Brothers Big Sisters programming throughout the Robson Valley. We look forward to working with the staff of Valemount Learning Centre to initiate and execute BBBS programming in Valemount, and hopefully soon after, in McBride.

Looking forward

We know the demand for our mentoring programs throughout the North is great. In the months and years ahead we will work with community partners and families to expand programs in a thoughtful and sustainable way. As we announce more partnerships we are also making the commitment that funds raised under each partnership agreement stay in their community to support their kids. This means money that is donated in Prince George will support Prince George youth; money donated in the Robson Valley will be targeted for our Robson Valley programs.

Over the next few months you will see and hear more from us as we roll out our new brand, new programs, and our 2020 fund development plan. We have some exciting things planned including the return of events introduced this year and annual favourites, as well as some never before seen initiatives. We will also be putting more priority into growing our Community Shuttle Program and Child Care Programs.

We’ve accomplished a lot over the past 40 years, and we cannot say thank you enough. We truly are #BiggerTogether, and we’re so excited for our next chapter as #BigsNBC. Together, we will create change for children living throughout Northern BC.

As always, we humbly ask for your support.
Volunteer. Donate. Stand up for our youth and make a difference in our region.

Sincerely,
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern BC