BBBSO Blog Posts tagged 'Volunteering'

Tri-Buddies Outstanding Showing at Dunrobin Kids of Steele Event August 29th

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

There were three Tri-Buddies competing at the Dunrobin Kids of Steele Event at the Bonnenfant YMCA-YWCA Outdoor Education and Leadership Centre Sunday August 29th

The first and coldest par [...]

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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Enrollment is rolling along!

angelab@bbbso.ca — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100

We’ve had an excellent response from volunteers to our announcement in December that we are now able to accept Big Brothers who are interested in the Community Based Match Program. With many spots to create new matches over the winter and spring, we are hopeful that many of the 45 Little Brothers who remain on the wait list will be paired up over the next year.

It has been a long process and it was a difficult decision in November 2009 to [...]

Looking for Big Brothers!

juliec@bbbso.ca — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100

It is with excitement and enthusiasm that Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa (BBBSO) announces that we are accepting applications for men interested in becoming Big Brothers!

Last year at about this time, we had to stop taking applications for the Bigs in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Buddy Up and Couples Match programs. With almost 200 Volunteers in process and a wait time of 6-12 months to be matched with a Little and our Mentoring Coordinators working at [...]

Age is just a number

stephaniec@bbbso.ca — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Throughout my experiences talking with people about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa, I get the sense that whenever people think of a Big Brother or a Big Sister, they get a certain mental picture of what a "Big" would be like. The usual picture seems to be a young adult who is very energetic and sporty and has a ton of experience with youth. Well, variety is the spice of life and we have no shortage of that here. It just so happens that, here at Big B [...]

Twenty-Four Littles Participated in BBBSO�s Annual Summer Day Camp

sueh@bbbso.ca — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0100

For the past nine years, BBBSO has hosted a week long day camp for our Littles called Kids n’ Kops where we partner up with the RCMP 'A' Division, Ottawa Police Service, Military Police, and Ottawa Fire Department...

Le pouvoir du positif

stephaniec@bbbso.ca — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0100

J�aime�prendre le temps de�t�moigner de la diff�rence qu�un(e) Grand(e) peut faire dans la vie d�un jeune m�me s�ils ne r�alisent que des activit�s simples ensemble.� Il est important que quelqu�un prenne le temps de�faire cette constatation puisqu�il peut �tre difficile parfois pour les Grand(es) de�le faire�par eux-m�mes.� �

J�ai r�cemment eu l�occasion de m�entretenir avec une m�re (Sylvie*) qui�m'a t�moign� des changements qu�elle avait remarqu�s chez son fils (Joey*) apr�s seulement quat [...]

This past year BBBSO celebrated its fourth year of the Go Girls!

tracym@bbbso.ca — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This past year BBBSO celebrated its fourth year of the Go Girls! program. The 2009 - 2010 school year was our most successful year to date, with programs running in 17 schools throughout the Ottawa area. We had over 40 dedicated volunteers that delivered the Go Girls! program to over 200 children.

We are anticipating an even more successful 2010 - 2011 school year, and we are currently recruiting new volunteers throughout the summer months. Many of our past v [...]

Good times had by all!

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

"What do other matches do for fun?" This is one of the questions I get asked the most by volunteers struggling to find new activity ideas for themselves and their Littles. In truth, I don't envy these volunteers. This has to be one of the hardest parts about being a Big. I'm sure many of us out there can relate to the difficulty of finding new and exciting activities for teens that don't break any rules. So how do you find these activ [...]

Une journee avec mon Petit!!

ericl@bbbso.ca — Tue, 25 May 2010 00:00:00 +0100

J'adore le mentorat scolaire de Grands Frères Grandes Soeurs d'Ottawa (GFGSO)! Jumelés pour la deuxième année, mon Petit et moi nous entendons très bien: nos rencontres ne sont pas toujours loquaces, mais il y a ces petits moments de grande complicité qui valent la peine de poursuivre la relation.

De voir l'aisance d'un enfant croître dans son école de mois en mois, c'est certainement l'un des expérie [...]

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 [...]

Une journ�e amusante, le mercredi!

angelab@bbbso.ca — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:00:00 +0100

(Ecrit par notre étudiante en stage, Traci Spour)

Certains individus considèrent le mercredi comme une journée ennuyant puisque ce n'est ni le début, ni le fin de la semaine. Ce n'est pas le cas pour moi, une étudiante en stage au Grands Frères Grandes Sœurs d'Ottawa. C'est une journée remplit de sourire, de souvenir et d'activités amusants ! Voici mon histoire comme Grande Sœur pour le programm [...]

The best kind of problem to have�

angelab@bbbso.ca — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Last year brought forth many challenges for our Enrollment department. We started off the year with 223 Bigs who were in process, and none ready to be matched. Thanks to a phenomenal team effort, we were able to give a huge push over the spring and summer, at one point, staff members from nearly every program were conducting Big Brother and Big Sister interviews! The result of this push, was the acceptance of almost 100 Bigs into our program - with a total of almost 150 Littles [...]

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 [...]

Back to school for Bigs and Littles

angelab@bbbso.ca — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

It's that time of year again where the kids are back at school and hard at work. Read more to find out about our Mentoring InSchool program which brings volunteers into the elementary and middle schools to meet with Littles for one hour once a week. It's amazing what a difference such a small amount of time can make to a child in our community!

Who remembers the good old days when putting in a full day consisted of doing arts & crafts pr [...]

Fall into something BIG

anniep@bbbso.ca — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

As the weather becomes cooler and we all ease away from our lazy summer days into the hectic Fall months, here at BBBSO we continue to celebrate BIG opportunities for friendship! Read on to find out more.

Match Meetings are an opportunity for Parent, Little and Big to meet and get to know each other's personalities, interests and goals. It is also a chance to review the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved and to share some of the expectations of the matc [...]

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 [...]