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Delaware County supervisor hears presentation on Big Buddy youth-mentoring program
Summary
Jamie Smith of Delaware Opportunities briefed the Delaware County Board of Supervisors on the Big Buddy mentoring program, seeking outreach locations and volunteers as the program rebuilds after COVID.
Jamie Smith, Big Buddy coordinator for Delaware Opportunities, told the Delaware County Board of Supervisors that the nonprofit is recruiting adult volunteers and outreach locations to expand its youth-mentoring program.
Smith said the Big Buddy program serves children who live in Delaware County and are generally between the ages of 5 and 14. She said matches pair an adult volunteer with a child for roughly a year, require volunteers to be at least 18, and include a background check and an initial meeting with the family before a match is finalized.
The program also runs monthly group activities that children may attend whether they have been matched with an adult volunteer or not, Smith said. She described usual match activities as hiking, movies, crafts and baking, and said some children become "part of the family" of their mentors.
Smith told the board the program is rebuilding after setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic and that Delaware County has committed additional funding to support the program. She asked supervisors for suggestions about community locations where she could do outreach and distribute informational packets and business cards.
During brief follow-up, supervisors asked how to become a volunteer. Smith said volunteers must be over 18, have reliable transportation, commit to the program for about a year, and complete a background check; she said she tries to match volunteers with children in the volunteer’s local area when possible.
The presentation concluded with board members thanking Smith and noting they would share outreach ideas.
