First four matches between Bigs and Littles made at NCI’s Ripley House Charter School
HOUSTON, TX (December 3, 2007) In an effort to encourage mentoring among law enforcement officers, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston (BBBS) announces a partnership with the Houston Police Department to match officers with children in one-to-one mentoring relationships. Four volunteers have already been matched with children at the Neighborhood Centers Inc.’s Ripley House Charter School.
Through this partnership, the Houston Police Department will distribute information to its employees about BBBS and the benefits of becoming a volunteer mentor. Since first circulating information a month ago, three officers and an HPD administrative employee have come forward as the first “Bigs” of the partnership. They are matched with children at Neighborhood Centers Inc.’s Ripley House Charter School, 4410 Navigation, as School-Based Mentors. School-Based Mentors meet with their Little Brothers and Little Sisters once a week for an hour at school. They spend quality time together by playing games, doing homework, or just talking. Research has shown that children matched with Bigs in school showed improved their academic performance and quality of class work, and increased the number of in-class and homework assignments turned in. They also had fewer serious school infractions. Having a mentor also helped the Littles feel more confident in their school work.
“Matching an at-risk child with a volunteer in a one-to-one mentoring relationship is a preventative solution to many of the problems our community is facing,” said BBBS Marketing and Communications Director Rob Walter. “Many of the children enrolled in the BBBS program are at-risk of following the wrong road in life, the one that leads to jail over college. Through a one-to-one mentoring relationship with a law enforcement officer, they’ll see how following the law and getting an education leads to a successful life.”
Police Chief Harold Hurtt was instrumental in forming the partnership with BBBS. Chief Hurtt has already endorsed BBBS’ unique method of mentoring by appearing in the agency’s “Go Big!” volunteer recruitment campaign, which includes billboards and magazine advertisements encouraging Houstonians to “Go Big!” and become a mentor.
“We hope the added resources of HPD will help us match more children from our waiting list,” Walter said. “More than 1,000 children are waiting for us to find them Bigs. Most of them are boys waiting for a Big Brother.”
The first matches through the program are:
Big Brother Sergeant Adrian Conejo and his Little Brother Alex
Big Brother Francisco Balleza (HPD Inventory Management Supervisor) and his Little Brother Gustavo
Big Sister Officer Alexandra Harrell and her Little Sister Jessica
Big Sister Officer Nishala Stewart and her Little Sister Alize
Tags: houston police department, neighborhood centers inc, partnership, school-based mentoring
