Our Programs
SITE Based Programs
Looking to do something rewarding during your lunch hour or after work once a week? Join our Site-Based program which includes over 22 elementary and middle schools and after-school programs where you can visit your Little to talk, have lunch, work on homework, or play.
The goal of the Site Base program is to provide a volunteer the opportunity to have fun, engage with a child one on one, be a role model, offer encouragement and broaden horizons. You and your Little will meet once a week at a designated and supervised site. Intake can be completed in one hour. There is flexibility regarding where the intake can be done. Please talk with the Site Base Coordinator to discuss this option.
Many Site-Based volunteers are local college and high school students and are mostly made at the beginning of the school year, to ensure a school year-long match.
Community Based Programs
In the Community-Based program, we match adult volunteers with children in the community. In this program, the match can go out into the community, participate in activities and can freely plan their match activities to their discretion. Community-based volunteers are adults 18 or older, and have available transportation. As a community-based “Big,” you are matched one-to-one with a child age 6-14, and you are able to set your own flexible schedule. Enrollment is easy and can be completed within weeks.
Parents, enrollment of your child is easy, however we do have a waiting list for this program. Waiting list times vary and cannot be determined because it depends on the match criteria from both you and the volunteer.
Volunteers are asked to spend at least 8 hours a month with their “Little” which is a couple of hours each week. Your schedule may allow you to spend more time with your “Little” and that is acceptable. Going to the library, watching movies, working on a school project, cooking or baking together, or going to a sporting event are some of the ways “Bigs” and “Littles can share time together.
High School Bigs Program
WHO: The High School volunteers are young people who are positive role models and have a desire to make a positive contribution through service. The younger students are children who can benefit from an older friend. The child may be recommended for the program because he or she needs special attention, is shy, has trouble socializing, or may need help in a particular subject area. However, the program is not a “tutorial” program. We have found that once these special relationships form, the Littles’ grades improve.
WHAT: The High School Bigs program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Virginia matches qualified high school juniors with an elementary student in grades K-5. The one-to-one mentoring relationship provides an opportunity for the younger student to have an older friend who is a positive role model. The High School Bigs are screened, interviewed, and trained to serve as a Big Brother or Big Sister by staff of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Virginia.
WHEN: The Bigs and Littles meet for at least one hour per week during the school year.
WHERE: At the site of the participating after school programs –The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lynchburg, The Jubilee Center, and the Altavista and Lynchburg YMCA after school centers. The Bigs and Littles may work on the child’s homework together, play on the playground, or visit in an area that is designated by the participating center. The Bigs and Littles are not allowed to leave the school campus or have a match relationship outside of the school.