[Image]Happy 2012![Image]
I hope the new year is off to a great start for you!! I am emailing to let you know about some exciting news here at Big Brothers Big Sisters. We have recently been awarded a contract/grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and our national office to serve 70 children who have a parent/guardian in the military. Of those seventy, forty-five need to be matched in our School-Based/Site-Based Program and twenty-five in Community-Based Program. All mentors matched with these children need to be 18 years and older and we need to make all 70 matches between the months of January 1st and March 31st, 2012.
We definitely have our work cut out for us but we are confident we can do this with your help. I would really appreciate it if you could spread the word at your school regarding our need for referrals for children who have a parent/guardian in the military (only 10 percent have to be actively deployed). This grant does serve children ages 9 -14 (the reason for this is because we aren't able to collect data from children under the age of 9). We would really appreciate it if referrals could be for children 9 and older but in the case of siblings (who are under 9) it is ok to refer them as well.
Please find attached our referral form, a flyer to help recruit military children and a press release announcing this award.
Along with the need for children we also have a need for mentors. We would really appreciate your help in identifying anyone who you think may be a great mentor and telling them about our organization or maybe you yourself have thought about becoming a Big. We have several different volunteer opportunities. You can volunteer as a Big Brother, Big Sister, Big Couple, Big Grandparent or a Big Family. As of January 1st, we have launched our 50-50 campaign to recruit more mentors. Please find attached a press release announcing the launch of this campaign and a flier.
Anyone is interested in applying can do so by going to our website [ http://www.bbbbscentralmn.org ]www.bbbscentralmn.org or calling Shannon at [ tel:%28320%29%20258-4536 ](320) 258-4536. Anyone who applies to be a Big in January and is accepted will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card to Anton's Restaurant.
Thank you in advance for your help in spreading the word about these great opportunities and I look forward to working with you in 2012! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
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Shannon Giffin
Recruitment/Enrollment Coordinator
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota
[ tel:%28320%29%20258-4536 ](320) 258-4536 ;'[
