Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester has partnered with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office to launch a new program called Bigs with Badges. The program is focused on building relationships between law enforcement agency employees and Rochester area youth. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester’s mission is to ensure that all youth reach their full potential by building and supporting one-to-one relationships to ignite the biggest possible future for all youth in the program.
In 2019, Big Brothers Big Sisters launched Bigs in Blue in partnership with the Rochester Police Department as well as the Geneva Police Department. With the new program in place, the partnership has expanded to now include Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies and other Monroe County Law Enforcement Agencies, volunteers, highway patrol, FBI, corrections officers, security officers, firefighters and EMTs.
Big Brothers Big Sisters’ evidence-based approach is designed to create positive outcomes, including educational success, avoidance of risky behaviors, higher aspirations, greater confidence and improved relationships. Bigs with Badges is a site-based mentoring program that matches youth called “Littles” one-to-one with a caring police or law enforcement agency employee as mentors called “Bigs.” Bigs with Badges will mentor their Littles and will spend time together at the youths’ school a minimum of twice a month during their lunch break. They will enjoy games and activities they can do together, like playing sports in the school gym, building Legos or talking over lunch.
“We are excited to expand our partnership to now include even more positive role models in local law enforcement,” Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester CEO Lisa Mattoon said. “The role of a Big is to serve as a mentor and friend to their Little. These trusting relationships have successfully proven to help Littles develop social skills and confidence, which benefit our community as a whole.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters is the nation’s largest donor and volunteer-supported mentoring network. For more than 100 years, the organization has made meaningful, professionally monitored matches between adult volunteers and children ages five through adulthood, developing positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people and their communities. On average, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester supports 300 Littles in Wayne, Ontario, Yates and Monroe counties each year.
“Our partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester will help develop even more positive, trusting relationships between law enforcement and the communities and families we serve,” said Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter. “We look forward to having our deputies serve as mentors and are thrilled to have the opportunity to make a difference in our community.”
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