Many young people in Canada face adversities and struggle with societal barriers. Especially during this time of COVID 19, imagine a young person already facing barriers now dealing with the additional stress of the pandemic, physical distancing measures keeping them away from their friends, school and community supports. Their families face unemployment and financial stress and uncertainty.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is uniquely positioned to provide personalized out-of-school, virtual support, and our mentors continue to serve as a vital source of consistency and connection. But we can only do this with your support.
Our major funding dollars come from in-person, community events like Bowl for Kids’ Sake. This year, none of these events can take place and many agencies have seen a reduction of 90% of their fundraising dollars. We have had to scramble to find alternative ways to raise the money to support our youth and families in this crisis. If we cannot find a way, many communities may be facing the loss of their Big Brother Big Sister mentoring services.
But we are #BiggerTogether. So we have partnered with our friends at Big Brother Big Sister of America to promote a major international virtual event to raise funds lost due to the pandemic shutdown. We need you to be Bigger with us.
Please join us virtually to support “Keep Kids Connected”, our first international virtual event.
“Keep Kids Connected” will feature testimonials, interviews, and storytelling that highlights the essential intervention services we provide and the work we do. This event will stream nationally on social media platforms including Facebook and YouTube, to over 212,000 viewers across North America.
It is important to protect the health and wellbeing of our youth, as toxic stress is growing within Canadian homes. Big Brothers Big Sisters has actively been providing services even when the world around us slowed down and we need to keep supporting mentors, mentees and their families by staying in touch, advocating on behalf of families, and connecting mentees and their families to other essential community supports.
Share the word, plan a watch party, and please join us on August 7, 2020 @ 2:00-3:00 PM EST to make a donation, become a mentor, or volunteer your time.