Big Brothers Big Sisters Honours its Volunteers at Boston Pizza

Thursday, 20 April 2023 at 11:15

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oxford County celebrated its volunteers and the $80,200 grant it received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

WOODSTOCK - Lots of people packed the Boston Pizza in Woodstock for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oxford County Volunteer Appreciation Event.

The local non-profit shined a light on all of the people who make their youth mentorship programs possible last night and celebrated the $80,200 grant it received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation last fall.

The money came from the Resilient Communities Fund and Big Brothers Big Sisters was able to hire a new Volunteer Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator as a result. The agency has seen a 60 percent increase in volunteer inquiries since then.

Executive Director Kristen Ralph says Big Brothers Big Sisters will also be able to create a new agency Strategic Plan thanks to this funding.

“The Resilient Communities Fund grant has provided Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oxford County with the resources to not only work to provide mentoring programs to the increased number of young people and families seeking our services, but it has also allowed us to move out of the day to day mindset, and look to our future to build strategy and operational plan."

The agency was going to update its Strategic Plan back in 2020, but it shifted its focus to providing virtual programming to youth during the pandemic.

Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman says Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oxford County is putting the grant to good use.

"Volunteers are valuable resources for many organizations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters. The dollars granted to the agency by the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Resilient Communities Fund help make it possible to focus on recruiting volunteers and building a strong strategic direction."

Hardeman was unable to attend last night's Volunteer Appreciation Event, but John Lohuis was able to attend on behalf of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.