Keaveny: Quality Mentors Needed

Big Brothers Big Sisters Amachi Missouri

Statewide Program Needs Quality Mentors

Serving as a mentor is one of the most important roles you can play in a child's life.  The Big Brothers Big Sisters Amachi Missouri Statewide Mentoring Partnership Program is a network of quality mentors who work with children of incarcerated parents.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Amachi Missouri strives to make sure that each child, no matter where they live or move, has the opportunity to be matched with a caring Big Brother or Big Sister mentor who can help them with the ups and downs of daily life.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Amachi Missouri is the only mentoring program that serves children of incarcerated families in our state's largest populated cities, including St. Louis.  Approximately 45,000 children in Missouri have a parent in prison.  These children need guidance and support to help mold them into the responsible adults and productive citizens.  It is estimated that 70 percent children of incarcerated parents are at a high risk of one day becoming imprisoned themselves unless they receive the positive intervention that they need.

Programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters Amachi Missouri have proven to be cost-effective.  It costs approximately $14,300 to house an inmate each year.  However, it only costs around $1,200 each year to fund a mentor for a child of incarcerated parents.   In addition, the program has produced impressive results for the children:

• 79 percent experienced an increase in self confidence
• 58 percent improved in academic performance
• 58 percent improved their sense of the future
• 43 percent improved their behavior in the classroom

We need quality individuals in our area to serve as mentors for this wonderful organization.  If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please contact Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri by calling (314) 361-5900, or going online to www.bbbsemo.org.