Networked Streets

Big Brothers, bigger hearts: Volunteers go beyond expectations

As Toronto is hit by the recession, one charitable organization aims to protect its services and programs. Meanwhile, their volunteers
have emerged as shining stars.

By Colleen Tang
TORONTO - April 2009

It’s always a balancing act for Jay Sonshine, a Big Brother of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto (BBBST). He and his Little Brother Roshae are continuing as they have been for over a year now going to shows, having discussions and sharing experiences together.

Sonshine is constantly thinking about how much time he can spend with his Little Brother and how much he should spend on him. This includes restricting emails to once a week, usually to set up a time and a place to meet. The commitment time is meeting up twice a month but Sonshine and Roshae try to meet up once almost every weekend. Sonshine chuckles and says Saturdays are their days. He feels like he’s missed out on something important if he is unavailable.
BBBST is a charitable organization that started in Toronto as Big Brothers of Toronto almost 96 years ago. The organization is known mostly for their one-on-one mentorship program which pairs up a male or female over the age of 18 with a child between six and 16. Their membership continues to grow reaching 1452 children enrolled in nine programs. According to Cathy Denyer, president of BBBST, she expects the number of children to grow to 1650 by 2010. In light of the recession, Denyer expects their phone to ring even more with parents seeking their services. But at the same time, many volunteers like Sonshine are stepping up to the plate to commit even more to the organization during this time.

There has been a funding shortage this year, Denyer says. “We are very dependent upon the generosity of the people and the corporations and the foundations and the City of Toronto to support us.”

Sonshine wonders if the corporate sponsored events like the annual Winter Carnival (an event for all Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Little Brothers and Little Sisters) will continue. He is more concerned about providing as much as he can for Roshae but at the same time, not going overboard and giving too much.

“Buying gifts, things of that nature you gotta be really careful…not to set him off on the negative side by being so overindulgent that you are really not helping your Little at this point because he does have to be an independent individual,” he says.

The biggest challenge is not to create a dependency, he adds. There is a fine line between being his friend and his parent.

“You really become an extended part of the family,” Sonshine says. Through more time and experiences together he has gotten to know Roshae’s mother and grandmother well. In fact, he has developed a great relationship with Roshae’s mother and they communicate via email often. This has helped Sonshine become more aware of Roshae’s life at home which is especially important now with the stress of the current economic climate.

Introducing the Big Bunch program

Sonshine is not the only one with a balancing act. Big Bunch coordinator, Jasmine Mascarenhas, says her volunteers are very active in forming activities that are both stimulating for the children but also operate at a low-cost budget.

Mascarenhas has been with BBBST for over two years but the Big Bunch program only came into existence 18 months ago. The Big Bunch program is filled with children ages six to 16 and currently all the participants are boys. They are all waiting to be matched up with a Big Brother.

Although the volunteers don’t have to chip in any money, they sometimes do so out of their own will, Mascarenhas says. For example, some volunteers choose not to have their purchases reimbursed.

Waqas Siddiqui, a volunteer for the Big Bunch program, says that he’s noticed a subtle difference with the program. Being a volunteer since last September he observed that the organization provided snacks for the kids but at the most recent session on March 31, he and his fellow volunteers provided the snacks instead.

Although Siddiqui wasn’t personally impacted by the recession it doesn’t mean he’s not worried about his job.

Siddiqui still has his full-time job right now and he says he is not going to worry. If he does happen to lose his job, he says that commuting will become a problem but that he will not stop volunteering with BBBST because he's made it a top priority.

Brian Frade, another volunteer for the Big Bunch program, says that since he’s still a student he hasn’t quite yet experienced the effects of the recession. He says when he graduates next year he will be more concerned about finding a job.

During these past four months, Frade, Siddiqui and Joe Ferrari, another volunteer, communicated frequently by email to come up with no or low-cost activities for the children to participate in.

Frade says that although there is no pressure by the organization to spend money, if they really wanted to do an activity that costs something beyond the budget, they still would consider buying it on their own. He does admit, however, that it would be nice if they had a fund.

One of the Big Bunch groups participating in a group activity

Group activity with a Big Bunch group. COLLEEN TANG PHOTO

The kids are sometimes bored with the low-cost activities Frade says. "We have to be creative.”

Mascarenhas suspects that some volunteers may have more time to spare with the recession looming because they now suddenly have extra time that they didn’t have before. Perhaps some of those who cannot find a job right now will turn to volunteering to gain a new experience instead, she says.

Andrew Zimcik is one of those volunteers with more time on his hands. He’s been volunteering with BBBST for almost two years and working full-time. Having a demanding full-time job at CIBC was a strain on his free time but since the recession started, he has found he is less busy. Zimick has spent that extra time concentrating on activities and initiatives for the children in the Big Bunch program he volunteers with.

Why the demand?

Karen Allen, a single parent going to school part time, has two children enrolled in programs with BBBST. She says that the Big Bunch program is great for her sons because it allows them to participate in activities that she cannot always afford like the annual Winter Carnival that involves lots of skating.

“They find it exciting to do stuff other than being with their mom all the time,” Allen says.

Her children look forward to going to the activities, especially her younger son Trevor who is in the Big Bunch program. He’s waiting to get matched up like his older brother.

“It really helps because it’s not something I can always afford to do because they are boys and they like to play very many different sports so whenever an opportunity for bowling through Big Brothers, like movie passes and stuff like that I take it because not often do we get to do stuff like that with our kids.”

Email author [colleen.tang@ryerson.ca]

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