COMMUNITY MENTORING PROGRAM
This program matches youth, ages 6-14 with adults aged 21+ who live in Franklin County, for one-to-one mentorship and friendship. Matches meet on their own schedule, meeting 2-4 times a month for a few hours doing things that they both enjoy. Matches last a minimum of one year but can be as long as desired or until the child turns 19. We are always ongoing enrollment for this program!
“The BBBS staff must have really taken into consideration personalities and lived experiences when making this match, its such a good fit” – mom of an enrolled child
WE HAVE 3 SITE-BASED MENTORING PROGRAMS
All Site-based programs run for 1 full academic year. The next cohort will run from September 2022 to May/June 2023. All high school mentors are well trained and supported by BBBSFC.
Meets Wednesday OR Thursday nights from 6-6:45 via Zoom, with optional monthly in-person group activities led by BBBSFC staff. This program trains public high school 11th and 12th-grade student mentors for this program, just like the DA and NMH programs.The BIG difference here is this program focuses on that elephant in the room- SCREEN TIME! We help mentors teach kids how to build healthy and safe online relationships, how to use the internet safely, and address online bullying and social media challenges for youth, all through play and healthy role modeling! This program has proven to be invaluable for over 50 kids since the start of the pandemic, and very valuable for our older teen mentors as well.
Meets weekly on Friday nights from 6-7:30 on the Deerfield Academy campus. Matches eat dinner together and then have access to the campus to play sports, run around, talk, do arts and crafts, have dance parties and other fun activities. This program builds healthy relationships with responsible teenagers and gives kids support around emotional challenges, peer issues, school help, pandemic trauma, and more all through play! The DA program has a bus that stops at one location in downtown Greenfield and one location in downtown Turners Falls if a family needs transportation assistance.
Meets weekly on Friday nights from 6-7:30 on the NMH campus. Matches eat dinner together and then have access to the campus to play sports, run around, talk, do arts and crafts, have dance parties and other fun activities. This program builds healthy relationships with responsible teenagers and gives kids support around emotional challenges, peer issues, school help, pandemic trauma, and more all through play! Parents need to arrange their own transportation to and from campus each night for the NMH program.