Big Brothers Big Sisters makes a difference in our community by providing children in need with one-to-one mentoring services that are proven to help kids stay in school, avoid risky behavior such as bullying, and grow up to be more civic-minded adults. You make a difference by providing funding needed for our professional, trained staff to carefully screen volunteers and match them in long-term, safe mentoring relationships, while providing necessary ongoing management and support for the volunteers, children and families.

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Donate once, or Make It Monthly!  Every donation through this form will receive an immediate tax receipt.

Visit Our Donation Form HERE
Why Make It Monthly? Why Support Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fraser Valley?

Because …

MENTAL HEALTH IS NOT A PRIVILEGE. IT’S A RIGHT. 

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fraser Valley is expanding its programming to help improve the State of Mental Health amongst the children and youth in our region.

So, how is Canada doing in supporting the mental health of its people?

Not great.

We are working to build their resiliency and ignite their potential. CMHA’s report, The State of Mental Health in Canada 2024, is a first-of-its-kind deep dive into the landscape of mental health, addictions, and substance use health care in Canada using data from across the country.

You can visit the CMHA British Columbia division to read the report at this link: https://bc.cmha.ca/

AT A GLANCE

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fraser Valley is expanding in 2025, growing our Community and In-School Mentoring Programs in Maple Ridge, Mission, Agassiz, Harrison, and Hope.

We aim to ensure that every child and youth that needs a mentor, receives a mentor.

  • Mental health in Canada is three times worse than pre-pandemic levels.
  • Canada allocates only 6.3% of its healthcare budget to mental health, far less than France (15%), Germany (11%), and the UK/ Sweden (9%). Cost prevents 57% of young adults (18-24) with early mental health issues from accessing care. 38% of Indigenous peoples report “poor” or “fair” mental health.
  • Low-income individuals experience anxiety 2.4 times more often than those with higher incomes.
  • Poor mental health correlates with a 50% higher likelihood of living in inadequate housing.
  • Only 50% of people with mental health disabilities are employed, with many reliant on poverty-level income supports.
  • Canada has the second deadliest toxic drug crisis globally; 8,049 opioid deaths occurred in 2023, the highest yet.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

We are inviting Fraser Valley communities to partner with us.

Become a Champion for Mentoring for Mental Health.

BBBS Canada partnered with researchers from York University (Dr. Craig and Pepler) and the University of Victoria (Dr. Ames) on a collaborative research project – ‘Building Bigger Connections’. The aim was to help BBBS understand how Mentees were functioning in terms of their mental health and relationships during COVID-19 in comparison to non-BBBS youth.

The findings were clear: Youth who had regular contact with their Mentors reported feeling more supported, less isolated, worried or anxious than non-mentored youth. Non-BBBS youth were more likely to report significant symptoms of depression and anxiety. BBBS Mentees reported more inequities compared to non-BBBS youth, inequalities like less household income and racialization, however, despite these disadvantages, BBBS Mentees reported better mental health.

These results suggest that being a BBBSFV Mentee may provide protective factors against some mental health problems. This is a significant finding and points to the preventative and protective power of mentoring. BBBS Canada’s research is aligned with other national research studies that have proven that mentoring programs can increase positive mental health, increase cultural connectedness and support academic commitment. The research encourages us to work collectively to make mentorship accessible to all young people facing adversities and provide them with the support they require for positive mental health and well-being.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Help us ignite the potential within our youth.

Support our expansion of Community and In-School Mentoring by donating today.

If you are a corporation, small business, or resident of the Fraser Valley, your donation to our general fund will play a crucial role in expanding our reach and impact across the region. Your support allows us to serve more youth in communities such as Maple Ridge, Mission, Chilliwack, Agassiz, Harrison, and Hope, ensuring we can make a meaningful difference where it’s needed most.

Renowned youth development experts around the world have confirmed: “After decades of forming hypotheses, conducting surveys, crafting and re-writing definitions, analyzing data, and writing journal articles, Search Institute researchers and practitioners have arrived at a surprisingly simple conclusion: nothing – nothing – has more impact in the life of a child than positive relationships.” -PETER L. BENSON. FORMER SEARCH INSTITUTE PRESIDENT AND CEO (2010)

In Celebration of our 25th Anniversary of merging Big Brothers of Fraser Valley and Big Sisters of Fraser Valley, we are seeking 250 new monthly donors.

You have the opportunity to become a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fraser Valley. A single person can make a meaningful and lasting difference in the life of a child facing challenges. Visit HERE to apply to become a mentor, or HERE make a monthly donation.

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