WE HAVE NEW SATELLITE LOCATIONS!

 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara (BBBSN) has secured a new satellite office location in West Niagara. 
Starting January 2023, Big Brothers Big Sisters will have an office inside the Community Care of West Niagara building at 4309 Central Ave, Beamsville. Staff are available by appointment at this location. 
Please note that the previous BBBS satellite location in Grimsby closed in late December 2022.

 On Monday January 16th Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara will be moving into the Pen Centre alongside Pathstone Mental Health. 
This location will be utilized for a recruitment hub on Mondays and Fridays starting January 16, 2023.
To join the AGM on January 17th, click the following Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81639793292?pwd=OGJVdnlESWt1ZkdDTjA0Ym53d0c3dz09
JANUARY IS MENTORING MONTH!

Here at Big Brothers Big Sisters our goal is help ignite the power and potential in the children and youth within our communities. We know this could not be done without the caring support of our volunteer mentors!

Mentoring amplifies relationships, learning, and opportunities. If you’ve ever had a mentor or been a mentor – at work, at school, or in your life – then you know that mentoring can change lives.
Join us this month as we celebrate the power of mentoring and thank all the mentors within our lives!
Smile Cookie Story
Recently, one of my Bigs went above and beyond to give his Little (and the community) an incredible experience.

Johnny got involved as a Big Brother to honour his late mother. He had been trying to think of ways to honour her legacy and put a little more good into the world, and he chose to change the life of a young person. Johnny felt that this was something that would make his mom proud.

Johnny has been matched with Kieran for a little over a year, and right before their first match-aversary, Johnny took Kieran out and bought 70 Smile Cookies from Tim Hortons. Johnny did this because it was his mom’s 70th birthday, and he decided to remember her by giving cookies away to people in return for asking them to share something about the person that raised them.

Johnny said that some of the responses were very candid, and some were not so positive, but it was very cool to get insights into the lives of people in the community. The response in general was overwhelmingly positive, and Johnny and Kieran got to share some special memories with other folks who loved their caregivers.

Lynn, Kieran’s mom, was so touched by this moment that she had tears in her eyes telling me about it. If that isn’t a way to get a young person to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, then I don’t know what is!

We are eternally grateful to Bigs like Johnny who give these amazing experiences to their Littles; things like this are what ignite the power and potential of our youth!

- Agency Caseworker
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NIAGARA HOLIDAY MATCH BOWLING PARTY

Our Holiday Match Bowling Party was a great success! Thank you to all of our Bigs and Littles who attended and got to enjoy some bowling, food and fun!
Big Brothers Big Sisters of North and West Niagara Holiday Skate and Snack was a blast!
 46 Matches and Big Bunch participants joined us on December 19 at Ridley College for a great evening of skating, games, crafts, visits with Santa and yummy snacks!
TRIVIA FOR KIDS' SAKE 2023

Attention Trivia Lovers! This is the LAST WEEK reserve your table so don't delay, tables will go fast!. Trivia is happening at 7 pm on Saturday January 21st, 2023 at Casa Dante Lodge in Welland! It's $300 for a table for up to 10 people, so book now!

TO REGISTER - CALL OR EMAIL MEL PELLETIER,905-735-0570 EXT 221 melissa.pelletier@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca.
WE ARE BACK ON THE LANES!
We are excited to welcome everyone back to Tim Hortons' Bowl For Kids' Sake 2023! It will be BIGGER than ever! With 2 locations and 2 dates there is plenty of opportunity to get involved.
Feel free to dress up because this year our theme is NIGHT AT THE MOVIES!

Join us
FEBRUARY 25, 2023 | Parkway Social (St. Catharines) or Cataract Bowl (Niagara Falls)
3pm, 5pm, 7pm
FEBRUARY 28, 2023 | Parkway Social (St. Catharines) | 5pm, 7pm

BE A PART OF OUR MEDIA LAUNCH!
Join us Thursday, January 19th from 9:30-10:00am at Cataract Bowl (Niagara Falls) to help us kick off our signature event. Contact nicole.boccia@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca to RSVP or if you have any questions.




There is just over one month left of Project Snowflake.

We are in over 100 businesses across the Niagara Region!

Contact us to learn more: 905-646-3230 x 232 | events.nwn@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca www.nwniagara.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca
Thank you to Branscombe Family Foundation for supporting the communities of Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, Wainfleet, Welland, and Port Colborne with a total 3-year commitment of $89,012.00, which is allowing us to reintroduce and expand the Student Parent Mentoring Program! 
Stay tuned for more details!
Thank you to Niagara Falls' Home Depot's Orange Door Project! Due to your generosity and that of your customers, we received an impactful donation of $3,788.05! Thank you for your support!
A big thank you goes out to the Lundy’s Lane, McLeod, and Thorold Stone Road Wendy's for their donations of Christmas Hampers!
A big thank you also goes out to Jordan Gadula, Brandon DiSimine – Saint John’s Ambulance Team, Gynette Smith, Ashley Locke , Graham Guest , Janice Robson - Ker United Church, Laura Lee Blake , Meriton Lions Club, Alexandra Del Vecchio & family, Michael D. Allen, Laurie Dutcher & Team, Rebecca Prudhomme & Chris Humphries - Rustic Food & Catering, Jeff Riley – Pet Valu Vansickle, Lindsay Zerebny – Niagara Health, Allison Doucet, Dave and Karen Sanduleac and Nancy Kennedy who donated to our Hampers this year.

A final thank you goes out to our staff for organizing and dropping off these Hampers to our families.
We are excited to share that Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara has been selected to receive a Community Development Grant from CT Jumpstart. This grant will help support the Game On! and Go Girls! programs. 
We are excited to announce that Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara has received funding as part of the 2023 AlectraCARES Community Support Program. This funding will help support Volunteer Intake for Group Programming. Thank you Alectra!
We wanted to recognize everyone who donated to our Big Tuesday Campaign. In total $6050 was raised, thanks to the 30 donors for helping us take 4 children off our waitlist!
Thank you for igniting BIG potential!
Thank you to our friends at Pet Valu for donating toys for our Holiday Hampers. Make sure to visit them at the Lundys Lane and Vansickle locations!


Thank you to Rustic Food and Catering who generously purchased, prepped and dropped off holiday dinners on December 24 and 25 for six families.
Also, a BIG thank you to Ray/Judy/Norm Fortier, Banana Republic, First Book Canada, Community Christmas Toys (Sue Mariage) and Barbara Greenwood who also supported our holiday hampers, families and matches over the holiday season!
Thank you to our long standing partner Vintage Hotels for another successful year of the Tree of Hope.
The holiday season is not only a time for celebrating, but more importantly, a time for sharing. Throughout November and December, Vintage Hotels continues to honour its commitment to bettering the community and helping local families experience a truly joyful holiday season with the annual ‘Tree of Hope’ toy drive in support of local charities such as Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Each property chooses a local charity to collect donations for.
Trees are filled with descriptions of children in our programs or on the waitlist who otherwise may not receive a gift on Christmas morning. Unwrapped gifts are then brought back to the properties and collected by our agency.
MATCH OF THE MONTH
Meet one of our newest Big Brother matches Ryan & Ethen. The two of them were matched in December and both look forward to doing activities such as rock climbing together.