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PROGRAMS

Looking to get involved? Whether you’re interested in enrolling your child, donating, or stepping up as a Big, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska offers several types of programs in communities across the country.

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Community-Based Mentoring

The Community Program involves Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and Big Couples. Adult mentors are paired with youth and young adults ages 6-16, with the commitment to see each other 2-4 times per month. Each match is hand-selected by our team based on shared interests, geography, and personality. Matches plan their own outings filled with things they like to do, like sports, going to the beach, or making music.

Foster Care Support (Sync)

In the Foster Care Support (Sync) program, Volunteers ages 25+ are matched with youth ages 14-21 who are in, or aging out of foster care. Matches in this program meet 2-4 monthly for at least a year. Mentors might help the youth look for and apply for jobs, talk over coffee, set up a bank account, be an extra support person to bounce ideas off of, or go grab groceries and plan a meal together. This program is offered in Anchorage and Mat-Su and is funded by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services – Office of Children’s Services.

Alaska Native Mentoring

The Alaska Native Mentoring Initiative is designed to recruit and match Alaska Native Bigs and Littles to strengthen their cultural identity. Matches in this program are encouraged to participate in educational and cultural activities. And to date, we have matched 80 Alaska Native Youth through this initiative!

ENROLL A CHILD
YOUR QUESTIONS, ANSWERED.

FAQs

Our Bigs come from diverse backgrounds just like our Littles. They are regular people, just like you. You don’t need any special degrees or job skills. You just have to want to positively impact a young person. Role models come in all shapes and sizes, and you could be a perfect fit.

As a Big/Little team, you decide together what you want to do and then your Little gets approval from his or her parent. We recommend that you keep a consistent schedule of outings and get together on a regular basis. Your local agency will provide more guidance on this. The outings will also depend on the comfort level of your Little’s parents, your Little, and you.

The quality of the time you invest with your Little is more important than the amount of money you spend. That’s why we don’t encourage spending a lot of money on your outings. The goal of the relationship is to help your Little see the world through a different lens so you can inspire your Little to become something they never thought possible. If you are going to spend money, we encourage you to seek out low-cost activities, especially in the beginning. Play a game together, or share that pizza that you were going to have for lunch anyway. Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies offer donor-supported group activities that are a great way to meet other Bigs and Littles. As a Big, you may also receive notices for free tickets to cultural and sports activities for you both to enjoy.

Share an activity that gives you something in common to talk about. Go to the library, check out a book and read together. Buy a comic book to read together. Play a board game. Go on a nature walk. Hit a bucket of golf balls at the local driving range. Take a ride in the car with the radio on and talk about the music you like. You want to select activities that give each of you a chance to learn more about one another. For children, playing can be learning. Most important: keep it simple and enjoy yourselves!

In the beginning it’s most important for you and your Little to get to know each other. This can happen best on a one-to-one basis. However, over time it’s also valuable for your Little to get to know the people who are important to you. Just keep in mind that if you’re spending lots of time with others, your Little may begin to feel jealous or neglected. The main focus is the friendship you develop with your Little.

Once you are matched with your Little, a Match Support Specialist from the agency will be in regular contact with you to provide assistance and give feedback. Any time you are unsure about what to do or how to handle a situation, you will have a Match Support Specialist there to help. They’ll help you with ideas for activities, guidance for handling possible difficult situations, and feedback on how you are making a difference.

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