BBBSO Blog Posts for Jennifer Mitchell

NHL Stanley Cup Champion Starts Something in support of BBBSO

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0100

On Monday September 5th, Chicago Blackhawk forward Bryan Bickell hosted a pick-up ball hockey afternoon in the parking lot of BBBSO to help local youth in need of an adult mentor.

When a Stanley Cup Champion and Chicago Blackhawk comes to town, it's the start of some [...]

Volunteers Going The Extra Distance! 58,080 BIG Thank Yous

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Volunteer Canada writes "Canada's volunteers are real-life superheroes who accomplish remarkable feats with real impact. They may not be faster than a speeding bullet. And they may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But their contributions are most definitely creating community change that is more powerful than a locomotive!" This is the perfect description for the roles our volunteers play at Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa!

In 2010, over 500 volunteers [...]

BIG Awards Presented by Cicso

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Over the past several years Cisco has developed a solid relationship with Big Brothers Big Sisters across Canada. Locally, Cisco has been involved on many levels providing sponsorship for BBBSO's Big Art event, Big Apprenticeship and 40th Anniversary last year. Cisco believes in the future of our youth and proves that by continually helping Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa to provide the support to help children develop into future leaders.

Louis Senecal, Security Consul [...]

2011 Mentors of the Year

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa (BBBSO) is never at a loss for volunteers. With over 500 volunteers annually, countless hours are given to children in need of a positive role model. Many of our volunteers feel that outrageous displays of recognition are not needed but their value is too important to overlook which is why we are pleased to announce the 2011 Mentors of the Year.

The Cisco InSchool Mentoring Big of the Year award is given to a Mentoring InSchool Big who has demonstrated a [...]

Celebrating friendships, dedication and passion!

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa (BBBSO) 3rd annual Big Wrap Up was held on June 8, 2011 at the Delta Ottawa City Centre. With the incredible panoramic view of the city from the Penthouse it is the ideal setting to celebrate the agency's achievements, match friendship and volunteer dedication.

We would like to thank our hosts Big Sister Carrie and Little Sister Brianna, last year's Ambassadors of the Year, for their wit and humour during the event.

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Congratulations To Rob And Cindy - Both Celebrating Their 2 Year Anniversaries!

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100

The agency's strong staff team is what greatly attributes to the success of our mentoring programs. It's hard to believe that two years has already passed since Robert Eves, Executive Director, and Cindy Smith, Senior Director of Resource Development, were hired as part of the BBBSO management team.

In the weeks before Lois Allen, former Executive Director, took her retirement she worked diligently as ensuring that a strong management team was in place.

Rob was initially [...]

Match Graduations 2010

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Many special friendships are formed through our mentoring programs. Our Bigs and Littles in our programs all share a common bond. A friendship that lasts well beyond our required one year. They share a friendship that stands the test of time, with laughter, compassion, fun, and sometimes sadness. Our graduates of 2009 and 2010 are those where the Little has turned 18 or the match has been together for 5 years and closed amicably. These Littles have grown through their friendship to b [...]

Showing Passion At Work!

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Wed, 26 May 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Tracy Moore has been part of our team since May 2008. It takes a patient, organized and dedicated person to run our Meet You In School (MYIS) program because of the stringent timelines and various elements. Over the last two years, Tracy has proven herself to be the right person for the job.

Tracy's initial interest in working with Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa (BBBSO) was based on the Inschool Mentoring programs, and their focus on providing mentors within the schools. "I l [...]

Volunteers Recognized by David McGuinty, M.P.

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa (BBBSO) relies on the support of many stakeholders to ensure that children in Ottawa have the opportunity to create special friendships. We are always grateful to the many volunteers who devote their time, energy, compassion and enthusiasm.

Many of you may be surprised to learn that we have 500 volunteers. Put it in monetary terms, the efforts of our volunteers for 2009 alone is estimated at $1.3M. And that is a conservative estimate. They are our mentors, our [...]

Big Sister And Little Sister Named 2010 Ambassadors of the Year

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Tue, 11 May 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In 2008, Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa (BBBSO) created its first Ambassador group. This group made up of Bigs, Littles, parents and other supporters is out in the community sharing stories and increasing awareness all year round. We have had Ambassadors speak at Parliament, during the United Way/City of Ottawa golf tournament, at various companies, during our Board Meetings and more.

BBBSO often receives last minute requests for speakers and a mass email goes out to see if anyone is [...]

Celebrating A 3 Year Anniversary!

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

We are excited to announce that 1103 children were mentored in 2009 across all our programs. This would not be possible without such a motivated and enthusiastic team of employees.

We are thrilled to be celebrating Eric Lapierre's third anniversary as a Mentoring Coordinator, Mentoring InSchool with Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa (BBBSO)!

Eric has been part of the programs team since February 2007. His contributions to the Mentoring InSchool prog [...]

Feeling Like Part Of The Team

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

We are very fortunate to work with incredible placement students year after year. This year we had an overwhelming request from College and University students that we could not take them all. Corinne Miller is a 3rd year student in the Social Work program at Carleton University. Read on as she describes her experience.

"As a placement student at Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa (BBBSO) I have had the opportunity to work and learn in a great atmosphere. The staff here ha [...]

Your Own Personal Fan Club

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Being a Big Brother is easy! It's about doing things that you would normally do with your friends. Richard Cotnam has been a Big for almost two years. Read on to see how his experience as a Big Brother is just as rewarding for him as it is for his Little.

"My becoming a Big Brother was a result of my brother and my girlfriend's good example. My brother became the Lanark BBBSO President after many years as a Big Brother and my girlfriend is now a Big For A Day having graduated f [...]

Animation Connects A Big And Little Sister

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

September is Big Brother Big Sister month and we are getting ready for some excitement! What makes this month so special is our Bigs and Littles connecting and creating friendships. A while back, we asked our Bigs and Littles to share their stories with us. We received some wonderful match accounts. Read on to see what Karen has to say about her Little, Ashley, who she met two and a half years ago.

"I met my Little Sister, Ashley two years and three months ago. As we eyed each oth [...]

Match Graduations

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0100

With 21 matches graduating we consider this to be one of the BIGgest rewards.

Congratulations to all our Bigs and Littles who graduated this year!

At match graduations we are acknowledging that our Littles have become just slightly too BIG for our programs. We do not think of this as an ending but instead as a celebration of the friendships that have been created.

Big Sister Linda and Little Sister Lindsay matched from July 2000 to September 2008. [...]

Our Blog, �Mentoring It's BIG', Celebrates One Year!

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

We are excited to be celebrating the first anniversary of our blog, ‘Mentoring It's BIG'.

When we launched the blog last April, we wanted to provide Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa (BBBSO) supporters with a virtual space to share stories, read about program successes, stay up to date with agency events and learn more about how they can be part of something BIG.

Our blog sees approximately 100 visitors each month. We launched with 4 bloggers and have now reache [...]

C�l�brez avec nous le premier anniversaire de notre blog, �Voyez le mentorat en Grand !�

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Nous sommes très excités que nous célébrons le premier anniversaire du blog des Grands Frères Grandes Sœurs d'Ottawa (GFGSO), 'Voyez le mentorat en GRAND! '

Nous avons voulu offrir non seulement un endroit où vous pourrez prendre connaissance des derniers événements ou des dernières activités que nous organisons mais surtout un GRAND espace où nous partageons avec vous nos histoires, nos ré [...]

National Volunteer Week 2009: Thank You!

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

As this week marks the 66th National Volunteer Week, BBBSO would like to recognize our 500 volunteers who gave over 48 612 hours, energy and enthusiasm during 2008 to ensure that children/youth in Ottawa continue to have mentors and support in their lives.

National Volunteer Week was first proclaimed in 1943 as Women's Voluntary Services in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver organized special events to draw the public's attention to the vital contribution women made to t [...]

Gagnante de notre concours �Partagez votre histoire�

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Nous avons récemment organisé le concours "Partagez votre histoire" visant à recueillir auprès de nos jumelages des témoignages sur leur expérience avec GFGSO. Nous avons reçu 11 histoires extraordinaires qui témoignent de l'importance de nos programmes dans la communauté. Nous offrons une carte cadeau de 25$ en guise de récompense au gagnante du concours : Alexandre Couture Gagnon.

Alexandre no [...]

Our Blog Team Grows Again!

jenniferm@bbbso.ca — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0100

As our blog continued to grow and attract new readers, we are excited to announce two new bloggers from our InSchool Mentoring team.

Our InSchool Mentoring programs, Mentoring InSchool and Meet You In School, mentors over 500 children yearly. Our dedicated staff from these programs work energetically during the beginning of the school year to ensure that programs run smoothly throughout the year.

We are excited to have Tracy Moore and Eric Lapierre join us as a blog [...]