Mentoring Makes a Difference

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The phrase you don’t know what you don’t know highlights the important role that mentorship can play in people’s lives. 

Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Appalachian Ohio is an organization that mentors kids and organization President and CEO Katie Lupsor announced that January is National Mentorship Month.    

“We have quite a few mentors. We use both high schoolers as well as adults in a lot of our school programs. And then in our community based programs we use… only adults. You have to be over the age of 18 to do that. “So this month is our opportunity to thank our volunteers for the amazing work they do. To thank them for the effort and time that they dedicate to put into making an impact on a child. And again, it does take a village to do this,” Lupsor said.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Appalachian Ohio serves 17 school districts across five counties through their Lunch Buddies and Community Based programs, which pair older kids and adults with younger children in order to encourage positive behaviors through increased social interaction. 

“We are looking for people who obviously want to give their time to make an impact on the life of a child,” Lupsor said. “And we have kids we serve, all school aged. So you could get a choice if you want an elementary kid or middle schooler, in some cases in our community based programs, even a kid in high school. Obviously we have 68 kids waiting, so if you feel like you have that one to two hours a month to dedicate to making an impact on the life of a child, then that’s, you know what we’re looking for right at this point in time.”

Lupsor said mentoring makes a difference and that volunteers are always needed. To learn more about how Big Brothers Big Sisters of Appalachian Ohio is making a difference you can reach them by phone or online.