Big Brothers Big Sisters social media posts showcase kids needing mentors

For Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region, one could say the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

What that means, Executive Director Stephanie Babich Mihleder said, is that the group has a long list of kids it would love to serve — if only they had enough mentors.

One mentor recruitment tool being used is a weekly #WaitingWednesday post on Facebook and Instagram.

The posts “advocate for the ones who need a little bit more of a push, or to have an eye on them, to have that mentor step up for them,” BBBSLR recruitment specialist Kody Whitfield said. “Their wait can be a few months, but we have kids whose wait has been over 1,000 days.”

The posts give some information on a child, including age, interests and aspirations, along with how long the child has been on the wait list.

A recent #WaitingWednesday post featured a 9-year-old boy who wants to be a rocket engineer with NASA.

“They have these amazing dreams, and they have the potential inside, they just need someone to help them unlock and help guide them to find their way,” Whitfield said.

The #WaitingWednesday campaign is a program of the national Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

“The program has garnered attention locally between agencies because of our ability to share content and ideas like this as a collaborative effort to find mentors for these children,” Whitfield said. “For example, the Pittsburgh agency gives us support when a #WaitingWednesday youth resides along our border and needs a mentor, and vice versa.”

Generally, there are more women volunteers than men, he noted.

“Oftentimes we match Big Sisters with a Little (Brother), because we find it difficult to find male volunteers compared to females,” Whitfield said. “There are many instances where boys on our wait list require a male mentor for a specific reason, causing nearly 70% of our wait list to be boys. We try our best to make every match the best one possible for the youth, whether it be a Big Sister or Big Brother.”

The program provides one-on-one support to young participants to help them gain confidence, develop life skills, avoid risky behaviors and succeed in school. Mentors can choose to meet with their Littles at their schools or in community settings.

Virtual information sessions for prospective mentors are planned for 6 p.m. Jan. 11 and 25 and noon Jan. 17. An in-person session is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 25 at the BBBSLR office at 106 N. Main St., Greensburg. More information is available at 724-837-6198 or bbbslr.org.

“We have 130 kids on our wait list,” Mihleder said. “We could have a (#WaitingWednesday) every day.”