school-based mentoring programs allow
volunteers and students to meet within
the school grounds one hour each week.
Group mentoring provides a different ave-
nue to help young people attain their goals
through mentorship while also benefiting
from peer to peer interactions.
DreamCatcher mentoring is an innovative
e-mentoring program that uses technol-
ogy to connect high school students in
Canada’s North with mentors working in
the students’ careers of choice. By com-
municating through a secure website, the
program is designed to help primarily In-
digenous students realize the rewards of
staying in school.
“As we move forward, as we look to the
future, Big Brothers Big Sisters in Canada
really would like to have youth mentoring
seen as a need to have and not a nice to
have,” Coleridge explained.
EXTENSIVE PROGRAM
FOR VOLUNTEERS
What helps to make BBBS in Canada suc-
cessful is its extensive adult volunteer re-
cruitment, screening and training process,
which is instrumental in matching the cor-
rect mentor and youth. The relationship
is well-supervised and volunteers receive
ongoing support and coaching as part of
the program. The importance of making a
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