Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors from Waimea College are preparing to whip up some baking and encourage others to do the same to buy more activity supplies for their young buddies.
Year 13 students Jess Spurgeon, Grace Cliffe and Tilio Barbier are holding a bake sale on 14 May, with other events such as a sausage sizzle being held throughout the week to coincide with Pink Shirt Day, an anti-bullying and mental health initiative which is held on 17 May.
The trio know fundraising is increasingly challenging for the mentoring programme and decided they could help by raising money for resources like arts and crafts for the younger “brothers and sisters” they see each week at Henley School.
Senior mentoring coordinator, Lindsey Wylie, praises the teenage mentors’ initiative and says it is timely when the cost of living is making it harder to fundraise. She says fundraising is tight at a time when the programme is getting more referrals for young people needing an extra person in their life to show them care and attention.
Grace says the mentoring relationship works both ways and she has got as much out of the weekly get-togethers as her young buddy.
“It’s definitely one of the highlights of my week and over the last year I’ve come to really see her as a little sister and not just as her mentor.
“You get to be their big sister to talk about serious issues, but also be a friend. It’s quite nice for them to have someone all to themselves.”
Jess says they need more Year 11 students signing up as mentors to begin the programme in Year 12 year as they have had up to 15 applicants in the past and this year just four applied. She says Year 11 students often worry they will not have time for the weekly mentoring session with a young buddy, but the trio have found they do have time and benefit from the experience.
Lindsey says mentoring also helps calm the nerves of young people in the programme who may be worried about the next step to intermediate and then college. For more information, go here.
