Four Pittsburgh high school graduates who are also part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh (BBBSPGH) program have earned scholarships from the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s (BBBSA) Youth Equity and Empowerment Scholarship, made possible with support from the Deloitte Foundation.

 

The Littles - Cassandra, Barbara, Juliana, and RaeMire - won $5,000 for college and credentialing programs. Eligibility includes career interests related to STEM or business. All four students will attend the University of Pittsburgh in the fall. They join 54 other recipients in 13 cities across the USA as scholarship recipients!

 

All four graduates participated in the BBBSPGH Mentor 2.0 program, where adult volunteer mentors work with their Little from October to May to prepare for a career path after high school. The program is held at Brashear, Charleroi, and Cornell. This school year, Woodland Hills is added.

 

However, Mentor 2.0 and a similar BBBSPGH program are both in dire need of volunteers. 

 

Site-Based mentoring is also done during the school year. A student Little and volunteer mentor Big spend time together at a school, community center, or the volunteer’s workplace, supervised by a BBBSPGH staff member. The many sites for this coming school year include Shiller, Arsenal, and Spring Hill from the Pittsburgh Public Schools and Sto-Rox High School.

 

“Student enrollment is in full force for both programs. We have children who want to be mentored and are ready to go. We need adults who can give a minimal amount of time for either the Mentor 2.0 or Site-Based program to help these children reach their potential,” said Becky Flaherty, CEO of BBBSPGH.

 

The Mentor 2.0 commitment involves weekly online communication and one evening event per month, in person, at the school with other Bigs and Littles and BBBSPGH staff. It averages 2-3 in-person hours per month or 16-24 hours a year - one day of the volunteer’s time per year. Site-Based involves about 2-4 hours per month, or 16-32 hours per year, which is less than two days per year.

 

“Truly, it takes little to be big,” Flaherty said.

 

Interested in volunteering for our Mentor 2.0 or Site-Based program or know someone who would be a good mentor? Learn more at the BBBSPGH website: https://www.bbbspgh.org/be-a-big/.