By Jenny Jones
The two year wait for a ‘big brother’ may finally be over for 150 boys across the region.
The Ottawa Senators Foundation presented a $10,000 cheque to Big Brothers of Ottawa-Carleton earlier this month to help create a co-op program.
Set to begin in February, the program will pair high school students with elementary children to act as a friend and role model.
“The co-op will give us the opportunity to serve more boys,” says Marilyn Box, executive director of Big Brothers. “Every child is a person with integrity and dignity and needs support to become what they really can become.”
Big Brothers launched a region-wide campaign three weeks ago to attract new volunteers. And with news of the $10,000 donation, plans for the new co-op program have begun, offering teenagers high school credits to be a reliable pal for youngsters.
Helping children is what the Senators Foundation was set up to do. Since October 1998, the foundation has given over $800,000 in cash grants to serve disadvantaged youth.
This is the first time Big Brothers has received a grant from the foundation. Marie Olney, the foundation’s executive director, says she is glad it could help.
“It is a very good program with a lot of merit,” she says. “We hope to help both sides — the little brothers in need of a role model and the teenagers.”
Big Brothers of Ottawa-Carleton helps about 300 boys a year by partnering them with a screened volunteer who acts as an adult friend and role model. There are currently 140 Big Brother match-ups across the region.
Ross McMurchy has been a Big Brother for more than three years, doing different sports activities with his little brother once a week.
“I wanted to help a younger boy who didn’t have a father figure to grow up with,” he says.
And for many of the seven- to 14-year-old boys, fun is exactly what they need. Ninety per cent of boys in the Big Brothers program live at or below the poverty level. Other boys are victims of violence or drug and alcohol abuse. By giving the boys someone to rely on, the program aims to increase their self-esteem.
“When you feel that you’re worth the attention, you feel able to try new things,” says Box.
McMurchy agrees. “My little brother’s whole attitude towards life changed,” he says. “His grades improved and he’s become a very polite young man.”
Big Brothers is planning the new co-op program with the Ottawa Catholic School Board, which may affect four schools in the Centretown area. The Ministry of Education and board officials will decide details of the program in the next two months.