No, not all children are accepted to the program. Our enrollment team completes a holistic assessment of each family/child applying to the program before determining acceptance/nonacceptance.

The wait time for a match with a mentor is between one month and one year or more, and our program cannot guarantee a match to each child who is accepted. Matches are not made based on when you enrolled but rather on when a good match is available. Matching is not first come first served for families or volunteers.

The youth enrollment process includes completing an application, enrollment forms, a virtual enrollment interview, and a survey. The entire process can be completed virtually, or in-person upon request.

All mentor candidates complete orientation, training, an enrollment interview, and fingerprinting. The enrollment team will run layered background checks and contact personal and professional references for all candidates before making determining acceptance/nonacceptance.

Each match is hand selected by our enrollment team, who conducts interviews with all youth and mentors. The team considers personality, interests, shared identities and experiences, geographic location, and preferences expressed by families and mentors for a successful match.

Matches meet a minimum of twice per month throughout the year-long commitment to the program.

No, mentors commit to providing transportation for their mentees for all match outings. However, mentors are not responsible for providing any additional transportation for your child, including rides to appointments, extra curriculars, etc. If your family attends a Big Brothers Big Sisters event and the mentor cannot attend, your family is responsible for providing your own transportation.

Matches participate in free and low-cost outings. For example, visiting the library, park, or a museum, going for ice cream, arts and crafts, playing sports, hiking, etc. Big Brothers Big Sisters offers agency and community partner events for matches as well.

Mentors commit to covering the cost of outings. Families may choose to send money with their child for outings, but it is not a requirement of the program. Participation in our program is FREE.

Matches spend time together whenever calendars align. Your child may spend time with their mentor after school and/or over the weekend. Overnights are not permitted under any circumstance. Matches spend time together in public spaces for the first three months of the match. Once they’ve hit this milestone, it is optional for the match to spend time together in the mentor’s home.

Mentors and youth commit to participating in their match for one year, starting the date of their first meeting. Once the year is completed, the commitment has been met on both sides of the match. The match can continue beyond the one-year mark if all parties remain interested in continuing the friendship. All matches are professionally supported by our Match Support team throughout their entire involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters.