Every kid has immense potential. We’ve seen it firsthand as Bigs and Littles work together to accomplish goals and achieve new things. However, not every kid has the support they need to face personal challenges. Our mission is urgent.
From volunteering to donations in Utah, We need your unique influence and experiences to empower and defend today’s youth.
Kids today face a lot of unique challenges. Did you know that approximately 90,000 Utah kids are living in poverty? That’s children and teenagers between the ages of six to 18, a challenging time of life even without the burden of low income. Additionally, more than one-third of all people who come to Utah as refugees are not adults. They’re kids. Around 24,000 of them. Thousands more experience separation from a parent or go through the foster care system. And still, according to the Utah Department of Health, suicide remains a leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10-17.
When you become a part of BBBS, whether by volunteering your time or by contributing donations in Utah, you become a part of a positive force already at work in local Utah communities. 84 percent of our littles said they were less likely to participate in risky behaviors after being paired with a mentor for at least a year. Ninety-four percent also felt more social acceptance among their peers and friends at school. Kids who begin to understand their potential perform better in school and improve their relationships.
This is the sort of impact that can help empower youth now and in their future. While it’s hard to put a price tag on something that special, we’ve calculated that our Utah mentors donate up to 100,000 hours—that’s $2.7 million of service. Without their time and the donations in Utah that we receive, these matches would not be possible.
The revenue that we receive from your donations in Utah goes to helping us create safe, secure mentoring matches for local kids. It allows us to offer quality training for our Bigs and fun events to support our Littles. In short, thanks to your help we see a lot more smiles and high-fives going around.
If you would like to offer your support, we accept a variety of different volunteer programs. Visit our website to get started!
