Big Brothers Big Sisters halts volunteer recruitment in Calgary due to low funds

The struggling economy is impacting Calgary’s youth.

Big Brothers Big Sisters has been forced to suspend applications for new volunteers for the majority of its programs in the city, due to dwindling donations.

President and CEO Karen Orser says it’s been a tough two years.

“Unfortunately, we’ve got thousands of children who reach out to us, who are in desperate need of those healthy strong relationships, and the demand far exceeds our capacity at this point,” she said.

Last year, they had to reduce their waitlist, because the time to get a mentor was pushing a year.

“It just wasn’t fair to anybody,” she said. “Providing children with positive and healthy relationships isn’t a ‘nice to have’, it’s actually an essential part of development. Some of us have taken that for granted as we’ve grown up with supportive, caring relationships.”

The downturn forced them to cancel their annual fundraiser this spring, so they’ve turned it into an All-Star Campaign.

Olympian Hayley Wickenheiser, Calgary Flames forward Sean Monahan, and Stamps quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are helping to reach out to the community.

BBBS is still accepting volunteers for all programs in Airdrie, Cochrane, High River and Okotoks and for its mPower, Youth-in-Care, and Youth Engaging Supports programs in Calgary.

But they want to do more.

“Even just to maintain our regular caseloads is what this campaign is focused on, but the more support we get, the more children we can serve — which is always our goal,” Orser said.

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