Jewish Life Digital Edition September 2015 | Page 116
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112 JEWISH LIFE ■ ISSUE 88
boating, ice-skating, roller-skating, arts and crafts, year-end celebrations and special big sister
appreciation events. All of this to
create social cohesion and positive reinforcement for the Bigs
and the Littles.” And the girls really begin to feel like family.
“It’s deeply moving and inspiring to attend one of the
events run for the big/little sisters, especially the national
one that is conducted each year for the big sisters. There is
such energy in the room, and the shared purpose the girls
feel is inspiring,” says Rabbi Horowitz. “We keep hearing
from the mentors themselves about how meaningful and
transformational it was for them. They signed up to give,
and give they do. But many report that they gained as much
or, perhaps, more than their little sister did.”
Such is the success of the project that with the help of a
generous grant from the Covenant Foundation, the programme is expanding across North America and Canada,
adding two new cities each year. “We currently have 350
pairs from 67 schools in five states and Canada. This coming year we will be launching new programmes in Denver,
Colorado and Atlanta, Georgia. To put the programme in
perspective, it’s important to note that each of the 350
pairs meets at least 30 times a year, which adds up to more
than 10 000 units of service per year!
“One of the most beautiful things about this programme
is that many of the participating schools have been involved
for a number of years now. So many of the girls who were
mentored by big sisters are now entering the 11th and 12th
grades of high school. They are volunteering in droves,
wanting to give back to today’s middle school kids, since
they saw how much it did for their lives.” For anyone interested in sharing in the nachas that this programme brings,
sponsorship opportunities are available by emailing Rabbi
Horowitz at [email protected]. JL
PHOTOGRAPH: SUPPLIED
IT’S AMAZING HOW CHILDREN,
from a young age, learn by
example. I see it in my own,
how they mimic their older
cousins, how they follow and
try to live up to what they
see as their big cousins’ very
large shoes, and how they internalise the ways they behave. It can
be scary at times, the power for people
to affect others, but it’s a striking idea
if you think about it. Imagine a programme that harnesses this power in
order to help younger children learn
by example from their older peers.
“Study after study clearly indicates
the positive impact and the effectiveness of mentoring programmes
on the lives of pre-teens and teens,” explains Rabbi Yakov
Horowitz, dean of Yeshiva Darchei Noam and director of
the Center for Jewish Family Life/Project YES. “In today’s
environment, even good kids from fine homes sometimes
face difficult choices. Our goal is very simple: prevention.
There are so many challenges facing teenagers these days