After a successful Centretown campaign launch featuring high-profile supporters, such as TV personality Sandra Blaikie and Ottawa Police Chief Vern White, Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa is still looking for fresh funds and more adult volunteers to mentor city children.
Buddy Up is the organization's latest crusade to raise more than $45,000, the amount needed to match 32 boys and girls to supportive adult companions. The campaign was launched last month at a packed Elgin Street Diner.
The organization collected significant funds from the diner itself, which donated 25 per cent of the sales made before 3 p.m. on the day of the launch.
"Right now, we technically don't have enough staff to match everyone. We're just kind of maxed out," says Robert Eves, executive director of BBBSO. "Even just one more mentoring co-ordinator would be a big help."
Eves says many of the 160 "littles" on the waiting list could be matched up with a "big" if there were new staff positions created to facilitate the recruitment, screening and training needed for new mentors.
Senator Jim Munson, who attended the launch says the mentor program is a simple but caring concept that reflects what is good in society.
"We sometimes don't stop and think of those who may not have a friend," Munson says. "It's not easy sometimes to go to work not knowing whether your son or daughter has a friend."
Blaikie says she understands why it's so important for children to have a mentor, because she was an unofficial "little" herself, seeking guidance from mentors such as her teachers.
"It was critical. It shaped my entire career path. One of my biggest mentors is my mom who said 'you can do anything you set your mind to,'" she says. "That was a wonderful foundation."
She says many people have a habit of taking these natural mentors for granted, which is why it's important to get involved with Buddy Up.
BBBSO is on the hunt for more volunteers, especially to mentor teenagers.
"For a few generations, teenagers have come to symbolize things in people's minds that are not necessarily positive attributes," Eves says. "The bottom line is that it's all perception."
One way Buddy Up is drawing in more volunteers and donations is through word-of-mouth and social networking sits such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Using these youth-friendly platforms means all donations go directly to the kids, instead of to advertising costs.
Still, Eves says he prefers events that have a personal touch, such as the campaign launch. While Buddy Up has raised $10,620, about a quarter of its final goal, the campaign blitz is expected to draw in even more donations.
"It's kind of a ripple effect – we have to wait for those ripples to get bigger," Eves says.
For now, he says the main focus is to spread the word that the organization needs more funds.
Munson, who was a big brother himself in the 1970s, says he encourages more people to get involved.
"I always say you get so much more out of it than you put in."