Through quality training, Big Brothers Big Sisters equips Mentors with the ability to ignite potential and build resilience in young people all over Aotearoa New Zealand.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Zealand is part of the world’s largest volunteer mentoring network. We make professionally supervised mentoring matches between adults and young people (aged approx. six to twelve) throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
History
In 1904, a young New York City court clerk named Ernest Coulter observed more and more boys come through his courtroom. He recognised that caring adults could help many of these kids stay out of trouble, and he set out to find volunteer mentors.
At about the same time, the members of a group called Ladies of Charity were befriending girls who had come through the New York Children’s Court.
These two initiatives marked the beginning of what has become an international organisation, operating in 13 countries, and serving over 280,000 children in need. After 100+ years the organisation remains true to the founder’s vision of bringing caring mentors into the lives of children and young people.
Our 25 years of History in Aotearoa New Zealand
The first Aotearoa New Zealand Big Brothers Big Sisters programme was established in Dannevirke, where the first mentoring match was made in November 1996. In 1997, the Nelson programme was established and with the success of its programme came the requests from people and other community organisations around the country wishing to start similar mentoring programmes.
