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Updated 21 hours ago
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region has added new faces and initiatives to shake up its longstanding mentorship program.
The organization is working to establish more ways to help children, known as “littles,” connect with their mentors, called “bigs.”
“I think it's going to be great for the kids. Our programs do have very measurable outcomes, but I think taking it a step forward and providing a little more direction could give the child even greater outcomes,” Executive Director Kelli Belanger said.
The 42-year-old organization serves about 200 children. About 125 of them connect to their mentors through school, particularly the Lunch Buddies program.
That program has been revamped with a new Read to Succeed initiative.
“We took that program one step farther,” Belanger said.
Now, when students meet with mentors at lunch, they will take turns reading aloud together.
“You always hear you should read to your children. But if the children aren't comprehending it, it's not as valuable,” Belanger said.
The 75 “littles” involved in the program outside school meet with their “bigs” regularly. But until recently, there hasn't been much structure to these outings, Belanger said.
Last year, the organization hired Becky Coccia as its program director, bringing the staff to four full-time employees.
Coccia's job is mostly about establishing events that “bigs” and “littles” can attend together, with a focus on helping kids learn about literacy; STEAM — science, technology, engineering, art and math; and self-actualization.
The first such event was a holiday party at Seton Hill University, where students conducted a science experiment, learned about video games from a Nintendo representative and created T-shirts that are on display at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.
Future events will be designed with help from an unexpected partner: The Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Westmoreland program, which tasks professionals with developing community projects.
One group in the program reached out to Big Brothers Big Sisters to see if it could help, Belanger said. The group is designing a series of events with institutions around the community in hopes of establishing a schedule of activities that can be held every year.
“Our intention is to make this a sustainable event,” said Mary Moximchalk, account executive at Excela Health and member of Leadership Westmoreland.
The group's first event, a tour of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, was held in January. The next one will be held in March at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital.
“The response was great. The kids were really getting into it,” Moximchalk said.
Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6646 or jtierney@tribweb.com.
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