 Necessity for successful youth mentoring has grown in the United States substantially over the years  Indianapolis Star series focus “Our City Our Youth” highlights the importance of mentoring  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana (BBBSCI) is one of the prevalent organizations leading this effort in our city and across the country  Enhanced communication strategies to create better relationship building among the mentees (Littles) and mentors (Bigs) is essential

 Met with various BBBSCI staff including the CEO and Director of Strategic Vision  Observed interviews with potential sibling matches and their guardian; interview with mentor candidate; training session for newly selected mentors  Read and researched agency information, mentoring articles, as well articles and books on the topic of poverty and class issues in the U.S.  Informal discussions with Bigs and volunteers  Review of detailed evaluation summaries from closed matches

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana develops mentors committed to helping boys and girls grow into the next generation of caring, confident and competent adults. Source: Big Brothers Big Sisters website: bebigforkids.org

 Increase the cultural competency and awareness of mentors and staff about class differences among the youth they serve.  Create a series of communication strategies to assist with better navigating the differences in socio-economic and class culture  Ultimately lead to a decrease of early termination of mentor/mentee relationships

 Volunteers: Actively recruit and train volunteers  Services: Mentee (Littles) Development and Mentor (Bigs) Match Support  Diversity: “We will promote diversity of staff and volunteers to ensure the success of serving all boys, girls, and volunteers.” Source: Big Brothers Big Sisters staff and board materials

Bi-monthly Newsletter Training Session Take- Home Material Suggested Reading Materials Electronic Media Educating Mentors (Bigs) Discussion with Match Support

 What we view as success is culturally subscribed and there is room for more than a single standard of success.  In several interviews, Bigs indicated not feeling secure in the knowledge that they made an impact on a Little’s life for various reasons. For example, the Little does not have plans to go to college. Yet, making it through high school graduation is a significant achievement for many families in our city.

 Mentors were frustrated with the choices that mentees made. Again, mentors need the encouragement, and the right tools, to help them with the understanding that they have hopefully provided the mentees with life-long decision making abilities. Recognizing the value in our difference and better understanding the cultural differences in many of these families will help provide mentors with the tools to bridge class barriers.

Identity and Social Structure – learning from one another Cultural Iceberg Analogy – people face similar problems but solutions may be radically different Ethnocentricity – in-group norms and behavior is only what is “right” Labeling – power and oppression; who decides? Third Cultural Space – creating a place where we can interact and embrace alternatives