Here’s another opportunity to invest just a little time to make a big difference in a young person’s life. Dozens of students at West Seattle High School are awaiting adult mentors – here’s the announcement we were asked to share with you:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound is looking for 40 volunteers to mentor 9th through 12th graders once a month at West Seattle High School in a program called “MentorU.”

One in three kids in America are growing up without a sustained, positive adult mentor in their lives and over 30 kids at West Seattle High School are on Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound’s wait list for a mentor. The gap between mentorship and youth who need it most continues to widen due to perceived barriers of the time and expertise needed to become a mentor. Understanding the critical need, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound seeks to engage and galvanize community members to help bridge the gap between people and possibility.

The MentorU program engages local adult volunteers and 9th through 12th graders in 1:1 mentoring relationships with meetings just once each month during the academic year. Using a social-emotional learning methodology, youth participants are guided through personal development and beyond high school planning activities with volunteer mentors at their side for support and guidance. To be a great mentor you don’t need to have a specific title, a degree, or any special qualifications other than being compassionate, patient, and accepting. Even the littlest moments can grow into big ones – sometimes all we need is a little encouragement, a little hope, and a little inspiration.

The program uses a cohort-based approach, working with incoming 9th graders, with the goal of ongoing student participation from 9th through 12th grade. Most mentors will be matched with incoming 9th graders. It just takes a little time, a little encouragement and a laugh or two, so that every child has what — and who — they need to achieve a BIG and bright future. Volunteer mentors in MentorU simply sit and talk with a high schooler during one 90-minute facilitated mentoring session per month. It truly takes little to be big.

Mentoring has a long track record of proven positive outcomes, in particular, 100% of young people matched with mentors through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound graduate high school. A staggering 79% of youth with a mentor last year experienced improvement in or reported no worsening of depressive symptoms – a goal which MentorU’s social-emotional programming directly supports.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound is looking for 40 volunteers of all gender identities, ethnicities, nationalities, and backgrounds who are willing to spend just an hour and a half per month to help kids at West Seattle High School in MentorU achieve their BIGGEST, brightest futures. The program dates are generally on the last Wednesday of each month from 2:30-4:00 PM:

October 25th
November 29th
December 13th
January 31st
February 28th
March 27th
April 24th
May 29th
June 12th

Learn more and get started at inspirebig.org/mentoru or apply now at bit.ly/3FtLFpX

Questions? Email Match Support Specialist Erin Escobar at erin.escobar@bbbsps.org.