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Brooke and Michelle were first matched in 2022.
At the time, Brooke was switching careers. She said that she had been an educational assistant at a middle school, and when she finished working there, she “missed the connection.”
While she was deciding how to fill the gap, she came across Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Pembina Valley, an organization that provides life-changing mentorship opportunities to youth both inside and outside of the school setting.
“I had heard of it in the community,” she said.
After applying to the out-of-school mentorship program, Brooke was “luckily” matched with Michelle — a meeting that sparked a connection which has since become a gift to everyone involved.
Michelle: Finding a constant through milestones
For Michelle, who is now 18 and has officially aged out of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, being asked to describe her relationship with Brooke immediately stirs up emotion.
“She's really strong and courageous, and she's taught me so many things about how to value myself,” she said. “She's just been a really big part of my life that I wouldn't have expected in the beginning.”
Michelle’s expectation for the program was to meet up several times a month with a mentor, but what she got from the program far exceeded what she imagined possible.
She said that Brooke has been there through the milestones — from her graduation photo session to birthdays and holidays.
“She taught me so much, and she's been there for me through a lot,” she said. “It's been really nice having her.”
Brooke: ‘A good outlet for my empathy’
For Brooke, as an adult without children, getting involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program acted as an opportunity to build bridges.
“It's a good outlet for my empathy,” she said. “I just love to make her feel special .... We do all the fun things — we go flower picking, we do crafts, and we just do creative things.”
“I think that Michelle has done more for me than I've done for her. [She’s] so amazing and lovely and wonderful, and I'm just happy that I get to be a part of [her] life in any way."
-Brooke on mentoring Michelle
Beyond doing enjoyable activities together, the program also offers value in how it transcends having fun times.
It is here that the potential of the mentorship program to create life-long impact shines.
“I think just having a non-denominational person who's not part of your family to mentor you is beneficial because you get a different perspective, and you learn new things,” said Brooke.
Michelle: Matching with a light in the darkness
For the mentee, who labels her childhood as “rougher” due to life circumstances, spending time with Brooke began as a light in a time when life had some darkness in it.
She said that when she became involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters, one of the things she was contending with was “hanging out with the wrong crowd.”
“Brooke is very much the right crowd,” she said. “It's been really nice to have another good role model adult in my life where others haven't been.”
Brooke: The power of a strong bond
As Michelle plans to tackle her next stage of life, attending university, Brooke has had the opportunity to reflect on the mentorship process and how it has shaped her just as much as it has her mentee.
“I think that Michelle has done more for me than I've done for her. [She’s] so amazing and lovely and wonderful, and I'm just happy that I get to be a part of [her] life in any way,” she said.
“[Big Brothers Big Sisters was] very easy to deal with throughout the whole interview process. They were very flexible with scheduling, et cetera .... I would say they know what they're doing.”
-Brooke on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Pembina Valley.
Michelle added that the process of being a mentor has also inspired her to look internally. Through the time she has spent in a leadership role, she said she has gained insight into who she wants to be as well as what she imagines for Michelle’s future.
“It's been very rewarding just to see her grow and to know that I had even a tiny little part in that,” she said.
Crafting perfect matches
That Brooke and Michelle make a good match is no accident. The Big Brothers Big Sisters screening process for its mentorship program, which Brooke said is “pretty thorough,” is designed to match a mentor and mentee according to the needs and desires of both.
Brooke said that her match with Michelle was “unconventional” because Michelle was one of the older children in the program, but their match worked perfectly.
“I ... generally gravitate towards ... older kids,” she said. “I put in a preference that I prefer older [children], and it worked out. I got a 15-year-old, and it fit seamlessly for us.”
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Michelle also said that her experience with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization was “entirely positive.”
“They were very easy to deal with throughout the whole interview process,” she said. “They were very flexible with scheduling, et cetera .... I would say they know what they're doing.”
Be a part of a success story
For Jenelle Neufeld, the executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Pembina Valley, creating success stories like Brooke and Michelle’s is one of the organization’s objectives.
In addition to the community mentorship program, Big Brothers also has an in-school mentorship program that sees older students matched with younger ones for volunteer credits that stand out on a résumé.
Neufeld said the organization is also working on an after-school program that would involve meeting at scheduled intervals throughout the week.
To learn more about volunteering with Big Brothers, click here.
The big event
Another way the community can get involved is through the 4th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Slo-Pitch Tournament, which will take place in Morden from September 5th to the 7th.
According to Neufeld, in addition to a friendly and enjoyable weekend of slo-pitch, the event will feature beer gardens and a barbecue organized by volunteers from Co-op.
Registration is open until the end of August, and there is a 3-game guarantee for each team that signs up.
The registration fee, which goes toward funding mentorship programs, is $300 per team.
“We're also really encouraging peer-to-peer fundraising .... Fundraising efforts are harder than ever with everything going on in the world,” said Neufeld. “There will be a prize for the top fundraising team.”
To learn more about mentorship through Big Brothers Big Sisters or to register a team for the slo-pitch tournament, click here.
With files from Jayme Giesbrecht