Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Dane County

Community-based mentoring - our community-based mentoring program takes place in-person,with bigs and littles meeting together 2-4 times a month. Whether a match is grabbing ice cream, taking a walk, hitting up the library, or attending a badger game, the goal is to produce quality time that builds a strong and trusting relationship. In 2023, 440 youth were matched with a caring adult mentor. In the fall of 2023, we expanded and enhanced our two school-based mentoring programs (school friends and high school leadership program) to drive educational and social-emotional outcomes for 50-60 youth in elementary, middle, and high school.school friends (sf) has been largely inactive since the pandemic started in 2020, but resumed this fall at one city schools (elementary) and wright middle school. Adult mentors (bigs) visit their littles 1x/week for 30-60 minutes during lunch/recess or after school. Matches, play sports, read, do arts & crafts, or just hang out and talk. Bbbs staff are on-site during the program to facilitate activities, connect with school personnel, and provide in-person support to bigs/littles. The high school leadership program (hslp) is an enhanced version of school friends. In partnership with west high school and randall elementary, this innovative program pairs high school mentors with elementary mentees in mentoring relationships that build confidence and increase connectedness to school, culture, and peers. The program uses a curriculum that gives younger and older students an opportunity to grow and learn from one another during their weekly mentoring sessions, with engaging activities centered on topics like developing a growth mindset, building empathy, learning stem skills, and practicing gratitude. High school mentors also receive coaching and mentorship from bbbs staff.our programs do not directly provide academic support, but rather impact essential elements of youth development, reducing educational disparities. 90% of littles in our program maintain or improve their academic performance, and 79% have higher educational expectations for the future. National research mirrors our local data, showing that mentored students maintain better attitudes towards school, are 52% less likely to skip school, and are 55% more likely to be enrolled in college ("mentor, the national mentoring partnership").

In the fall of 2022, we launched mentoru, a brand-new program in partnership with marshall high school in eastern Dane County. Mentoru is an innovative approach that provides one-to-one mentoring to high school youth, blending messaging technology with a structured classroom curriculum focused on college readiness, workforce development, career exploration, and social-emotional learning throughout their high school journey. Our first cohort (22/23 school year) included about 15 10th-grade students, and the majority have re-enrolled for their junior year, along with a new cohort of 12 10th-graders for the 23/24 school year. We offer high-value incentives that drive opportunity by taking the students on interactive field trips, bringing in guest speakers, and increasing the number of hands-on activities we do in class and at our events. As a result of these efforts, we've seen increased messaging between mentors and mentees, high mentoru class attendance, greater program satisfaction, and class engagement. Students have reflected on the impact of these experiences and shared that they are not receiving this type of knowledge and support anywhere else.

Enrollment - 2023 resulted in 57% more prospective volunteers, accelerated the enrollment process for bigs, and created 33% more matches! We conducted 244 volunteer interviews with prospective bigs. These are meaningful results, and we know there is still much progress to be made in reaching kids who want a mentor. The future is focused on the growth and expansion of our mentoring programs, including growing our school-based programs to reach kids who otherwise may not have the opportunity to be in our community-based program.

Other - additional events, supplies, and training to support bbbs' one-to-one mentoring programs.

Back-to-school - an annual event where backpacks and school supply kits are provided to mentees to get them ready for the upcoming school year.