Big Brothers Big Sisters of Taranaki

Support our mAHI

Help build positive relationships that are critical to childhood development

volunteer

It takes as little as an hour a week to spark potential in a young person

UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT

 See more about our programmes, our sponsors, our mentors and our mission

We believe potential lives within every young person.  Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors help form strong positive relationships that express care, challenge growth, share power, and expand possibilities.

Join us as we ignite youth potential by creating one-to-one, long-term, consistent relationships between caring adult volunteers and tamariki, having a positive impact on the whānau of our Littles.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Taranaki now has over one hundred wonderful volunteers matched with over one hundred equally wonderful tamariki (young people) right around the mountain. The exceptional success of Big Brothers Big Sisters in Taranaki belongs to the wider community, especially our volunteer mentors who support this great initiative.



OUR PROGRAMMES

Community-Based Mentoring


Community-Based Mentoring is the traditional Big Brothers Big Sisters relationship. It happens after school or on the weekend. It’s all about an adult volunteer (over 18) and a young person spending one-to-one time together doing

things they both enjoy, for 1-3 hours, once a week.
Most outings take place in the community, at a library, a park, the beach or at other free facilities. Children are matched when they are between the ages of 6-10, and once they are matched, they can stay on the programme until they’re 18.

The mentor picks the child up from their home and drops them home afterwards. The mentor arranges times with the parent/caregiver.

About half of our community based matches meet over the weekend and the other half in the early evening of a weekday, after school.

Become a Mentor

School-Based Mentoring


School-Based Mentoring takes place on site at a local primary school, often in the library, staff room or out in the playground. Common activities are board games, lego, baking, sports and crafts.

School-Based Mentoring is ideal for people who like the set routine and structure of a school setting. Mentors go to the school once a week and take the young person out of class for an hour. Typically it is the same time each week.

Most schools prefer it to be either late morning or in the afternoon so that it is outside of the young person’s core subjects. Most school based mentors are retired or are employed at a workplace where they can take an extended break during the day, in many cases with the support of their employer. It is also common for mentoring matches to start in school and to later extend into community-based mentoring. This only happens if the mentor, child and parent/caregiver want this to occur. 


Become a Mentor

Know someone who needs a Tuakana (Mentor)?

For parents & caregivers, agencies & individuals that know a young person who would benefit from caring and committed one-to-one mentoring

Read more about referring a young person for mentoring

Learn more »

BIG BROTHERs BIG SISTERs of TARANAKI TEAM

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Taranaki employ a team of 7 professionals who cover majority of the Taranaki region.

We pride ourselves in our experience in making great matches that are long lasting and that significantly impact young lives.

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Quality youth mentoring, that works

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.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Zealand is part of the world’s largest volunteer mentoring network

As a national not-for-profit organisation, Big Brothers, Big Sisters of New Zealand relies entirely on community grants, business sponsorship and donations to provide their quality mentor training.

Studies show that 98% of the youth we mentor believe they now make better life choices as a result of the relationship with their ‘Tuakana’ (mentor)

THE Taranaki Board members

Our governance board is here to support the team on the ground.

They volunteer their time and skills to ensure the programme meets national standards and regulations.

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OUR TARANAKI DEFENDERS OF POTENTIAL

Tuakana - Teina

Mā te tuakana te teina e tōtika, mā te teina te tuakana e tōtika


From the older the younger will learn, from the younger the older will learn.
Where the older has responsibilities to the younger, so does the younger to the older.


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