Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Washington

Volunteer adult or high school Bigs meet with their Littles once a week either at a school or community center under the supervision of a match support specialist. Bigs and Littles can do school work, play games, do arts and crafts, or play sports. The program runs concurrent with the school year and serves children ages 5-18 years old.

Adult volunteer Bigs meet with a military connected child once a week at the school during the child's lunch break. Big and Little can play games, do arts and crafts, talk, and/or play sports.
This program runs concurrent with the school year and only takes place in select elementary schools in the North Thurston Public Schools district.
Littles must be connected to the military and meet predetermined situational criteria. Bigs will undergo a training on military culture and how to handle situations unique to the military.
This is a pilot program funded by a $1.3 million grant from the US Department of Education. North Thurston Public Schools and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Washington were the only ones selected in the country to participate in the program. Researchers from multiple universities will study the effects that school based mentoring has on behavior and academic performance of children of service members.

This program is conducted in partnership with the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council. One of our trained staff meets with and trains incarcerated youth and young adults on work place readiness skills. Once they are released, the program assists in finding them employment, and matches them with a mentor to meet in groups of 3-4 youths in order to talk about challenges, achievements and give further guidance.