News & Stories

It’s always fun to look back on the year and see all the incredible stories we got to tell thanks to caring folks like you! Our volunteers, donors, funders, and families make this good work possible and we are so excited to share 2016 with you.

So in celebration of all we accomplished together last year, here are 5 of our most read blog posts from 2015. Feel free to read them again, share them with a friend, or check out all of Our Stories.

#5: Making People Proud

Tall, lanky, and a tad shy, Trent doesn’t immediately strike you as a typical hockey player, but you’ll find him playing hockey nearly every Wednesday anyway. For over 4 years, Trent has been a mentee in the Boys & Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters HEROS program. HEROS – Hockey Education Reaching Out – aims to empower children on ice. And for Trent that’s exactly what it’s done. Trent joined the program when he was in Grade 3. According to … CONTINUE READING

#4: An Answered Prayer

One day this past Fall, Jennie Newton, an Enrollment Facilitator with BGCBigs, was looking through Little Brothers, trying to find a match for a Big Brother who had just applied. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was fate, when she came across Zane’s file.  With his 18th birthday just around the corner, Zane was about to age out of BGCBigs programs. He lived in foster care, was in a wheelchair, and had been waiting for a Big Brother for 6 … CONTINUE READING

 

#3: Reflections On Being A Big Sister

In 2002, I was 19 years old and enrolled in a Sociology course at the University of Alberta called Juvenile Delinquency. In that course, I learned that deterrence techniques are not an effective means of keeping youth on track. Rather, mentoring is a much more effective method of helping youth stay happy and healthy… CONTINUE READING (this article was shared with us by the wonderful Heather MacKenzie.)

 

#2: Dang’s Big First Day

Dang’s first day at BGCBigs’ McCauley Club ended on a high note – literally. Overlooking Giovanni Caboto Park, in a bucket truck with an EPCOR power lineman by his side, his infectious smile shone wide above a community that wants to lift him up.The evening was hosted by a crew of EPCOR employees… CONTINUE READING (Big thanks go to EPCOR’s Connie Smart for contributing this awesome story.)

 

#1: 12 Reasons NOT To Volunteer (And Our Rebuttals)

As a charity involved in the volunteer recruitment business, we get to hear a lot of reasons why people can’t volunteer. Last month, our recruitment team spent over 100 hours in the community, tabling events, presenting to companies and universities, striking up conversations with strangers, putting up posters, and working their hardest to find caring adults to spend some time with children. They’ve heard ALL the reasons in the book; here are their Top 12…. CONTINUE READING