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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-06-21, Page 44Page 12,Lecknew Sentinel, Wednesday, Jpne 2,,8, 1978 Big Brothers will organize agencies in uron BY JOANNE WALTERS There are many more fatherless boys in this area than many people realize, according to Marianne Fray- , ne of Kingsbridge, one of two students working under an Experience '78 provincial. grant to assess the need for and organize Big Brothers agencies in Goderich, Sea - forth, Clinton, Wingham and surrounding areas this sum- mer. The Big Brothers Associa- ion was first formed in Canada in 1913. Today, through local agencies in 135 communities throughout Canada, Big Brothers is reaching out to provide guidance to boys in their formative years. Each Big Brothers agency has a Board of Directors made up of volunteers chosen from a cross-section of the commun- ity. Professional full-time employees are selected by the boards and report to them on the matches of big and little brothers. Big Brothers are volun- teers, 18 years of age or over, married or single. They're • responsible individuals who, with the assistance of trained agency personel, maintain close relationships with boys • who could otherwise lack a continuing male influence. The main objective of the Big Brothers Association is to help the individual father- less boy, between the ages of six and 16, to develop a way of living that is personally and socially adequate. Youths' problems today are serious and alarming and affect the present and near future. The cost to the community (moral and finan- cial) can be staggering. The most effective immediate and long range strategy is one of prevention. Every responsible study made, clearly reveals the fact that maladjusted children come most frequently from homes in which there is no father or adequate male figure. Big Brothers is dedicated to help such boys' 'development. Performance records from Big Brothers agency files Jemonstrate the effective- ness of this concept. Studies locument improvements in academic performance, -atti- rude and outlook. Less than' 10,000 boys across Canada are matched with a Big Brother and every agency has a waiting list of prospective little brothers. Marianne and her partner Tracy Baker of Seaforth, through their Experience '78 project, are trying to allevi- ate that problem in this area. In each of the four towns they are dealing with, they must , find out how many boys require the service and .how willing members of the community are to co-operate by sitting on the board or being big brothers. Once the program is set up, they must • help the four towns to find funding and more volun- teers. ONLY TWO MATCHES NEEDED Marianne explains, that only two matches between big and little br'.others are needed in each community in order to set up the progratn, although she hopes for more. Once the program is started, it's up to the community whether it wishes to continue or not. Exeter has six matches and has been run- ning an agency for a year now, says Marianne. Tracy and Marianne are. sponsored by the South Huron Big Brothers Agency in Exeter and they are required to spend two weeks time there watching how it runs and figuring out ways to further improve it. In each of the four corn - munities, the girls must find ten people who are willing to 'sit on the Board of Directors filling such roles as presid- ent, vice-president, treasur- er, secretary, chairman of publicity, chairman of re- cruiting, chairman of fund raising, chairman of screen- ing and chairman of match- ing. The board members decide themselves how often they should meet, how they should run the agency, ways to recruit more big brothers, etc. "It's not really a° group organization," ekplains Mar- ianne. "The board 'doesn't have to meet all that often." "It's basically a one to one thing - the big brother and the little brother." Once the big brother is matched up to the little brother, he is required to. spend up is three or four hours a week with that little brother for a year's commit- ment. He is not supposed to spend time at the little brother's home but he does- n't necessarily have to take him on outings either, says Marianne. He us just some- one, a male, for the little boy to talk to or share mutual hobbies and interests with. i sporting event or library visit, a fishing trip or work project, may occupy the time they share. "There's 'always a waiting list of little brothers and not enough big brothers," says Marianne. "It's the same everywhere. The biggest problem is to 'find people to volunteer to be big broth- ers." Those who do volunteer to be big brothers, have to -be carefully screened, she says. "Not just anyone can be accepted as a big brother." Each volunteer is screened twice by a screening chair- man but Marianne says this should not discourage volun- teers. "They don't do a lot of prying. All the questions • asked are very basic like, 'Why do you want to be a big brother?' and everything is kept confidential. The volun- teer must give references too. It's not that hard on a. person when he is screen- ed". CONTINUED ON PAGE 13. Tracy Baker of Seaforth and Marianne Frayne of Kingsbridge, as females, may not be able to volunteer to be big brothers but they are certainly trying to get the Big Brothers organization off the ground in this area. The girls are working out of the Huron Centre for Children and Youth in Clinton. this summer under an Experience '78 grant to assess the need for and organize Big . Brothers agencies in Goderich, Clinton, Seaforth, Wingham and surrounding areas. Here they look over some literature on the task ahead of them. A public meeting on the subject is planned for Wingham sometime soon. [Photo by Joanne Walters] Bicycle accidents are increasing Tbisiswhat Ontario is doing to help make bicycling safer Stay alert to stay alive! Many bicycle accidents involve collisions with cars or trucks whose drivers never "see" the bicyclist until after it's too late. Asa bicyclist, you have just as much right to the road as cars, buses or trucks. But you're small and they're big,, and being right doesn't help if they don't see you! So it's up to you to watch out for you. Stay alert to stay alive ! We urge you and your family to become familiar with the rules of bicycle safety. Your Ontario government has prepared a special booklet called "The Bicyclist's Handbook". It covers cycling. tips, rules of the road, traffic signs, how to become an expert cyclist and how to maintain a safe bicycle. For your free copy, write to: Bicyclist's Handbook — Public & Safety Information Branch Ministry of Transportation and Communications 1201 Wilson Avenue Downsview; Ontario M3M 1J8 James Snow, Minister of Transportation and Communications William Davis, Premier Province of Ontario