Laurie and Tannan: Incredible Blessings

With a husband and three growing sons at home, Laurie’s life was fuelled by sports and testosterone. When she signed up to volunteer as an in-school mentor with BBBS, it’s easy to see why she wanted to be matched with a little girl. “The agency interviews you to match you with the best fit, and…

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Making A Kiddo Feel Special

The first time Gwen was told she should become a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters (as we were called at the time), she declined and told us she was just too busy. A year later, she was approached again. But this time something was different. “I realized I was just making excuses not to.…

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A Place for Tutoring & Mentoring

The EXCEL (Excite, Challenge, and Empower Learners Program) has grown tremendously since its inception in September 2013. EXCEL is a supervised after school homework program that supports kids from Grade One to Grade Six at McKee School who could benefit from additional support with their schoolwork. Each Wednesday throughout the school year, students get to…

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Building Communities

The year was 1990. Canada was in the middle of the Gulf War – the first ever televised – and nearly every citizen had their attention glued to a TV. Big Brothers and Big Sisters had just merged in Edmonton and we were trying to sell tickets to our Dream Home Lottery. We struggled to…

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Summertime!

Talk about one of the best times of year! Kids are out of school, everyone walks a little lighter, and we don’t have to wade through snow to get out the front door. BGCBigs and our community partners have a handful of really fantastic summer programs and camps to keep kids and youth active and…

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Club Kids “Get In The Game”

Since July 2013, close to 5,000 young people across Canada have been given a sporting chance thanks to “Canadian Tire Jumpstart Get in the Game!”, a pilot program launched by Jumpstart and Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada that aims to remove the financial barriers keeping many kids from participating in organized sports and physical…

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The Gift that Keeps on Giving: The Butler Family Foundation

Like many Edmontonians, William Butler wanted to help make his community a better place. After years of donating to numerous non-profits, he decided to be more intentional with his philanthropy by establishing the Butler Family Foundation in 2007, along with the help of four other family members. Since 2008, the Butler Family Foundation has given…

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Watch As This Average Guy Steps Up to Help Out

At BGCBigs, we’re pretty honest about the high need for male role models in young boys’ lives. It’s true for our community of Edmonton, for the communities where we operate satellite offices in Alberta, and for all of North America. While we also need good women to step forward and become Big Sisters, the need…

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