At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Langley, we create, invest in, and empower life-changing relationships for children facing adversity. Many children in our community struggle with societal barriers and face adversities in their lives, such as living in poverty, being separated from a biological parent, risk factors for mental health, being bullied at school, or witnessing violence.

Through mentorship, Big Brothers Big Sisters can ensure that adversities faced in childhood do not define a young person’s adulthood. We work to reach young people during their critical years of development so that our intervention has a chance to buffer childhood stress and ignite a child’s unique potential. The Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University argues that no matter the source of hardship, the single most common factor for children who do well in life, is the presence of at least one stable supportive relationship with a caring adult. Put simply, relationships play a powerful role in preventing long-term health problems, making mentorship an essential intervention for children who live with adversities. Using evidence-based practices, our agency works to ensure that children and volunteers receive the targeted support, training, and advice they need to create and maintain strong mentoring matches.

Children who are mentored have the support they need to thrive, not just survive. And when children are given the opportunity to do well, our community also does well. Research shows that every dollar of investment in our programming returns between $18 and $23 to society through taxes and increased spending from higher incomes, volunteerism, and charitable donations.

In 2022, our agency supported 450 children and youth in the Langley community through our no-cost preventative mentoring programs. In 2024, our goal is to do more, be more, and serve more, but we need your help. Your donation today will help us to:

1. Continue facilitating and monitoring the mentoring relationships within our agency
2. Address the growing and changing need for healthy, safe, and meaningful mentorship for our youth
3. Expand the reach of our programs by recruiting new volunteers and serving more families within Langley
4. Provide healthy nourishment, games, and activities for children in our programs
5. Understand the needs of our community and how we can best provide mentorship to our youth
6. Explore new ways that we can connect with our youth and provide them with intentional, meaningful mentorship
7. Ignite the potential that is in all Children through safe and healthy connections

Donate today, ignite the potential in our Langley children and youth, and let’s be #BiggerTogether.