It’s a busy time of year for Santa, but a cheery Mr. and Mrs. Claus made an important stop at the Big Brothers Big Sisters North and West Niagara Christmas party this past weekend in Grimsby.
On a typical year, around 200 adult-child mentors and matches celebrate the season at Coppola's Ristorante, which fills out with music, games, food and of course, Santa Claus. For the kids, it’s a seat at the table for a big night they may not otherwise get the chance to have.
This year’s event took on a coronavirus-altered design as a drive-through party that saw children between the ages of seven and 16 years-old come through to visit at a distance with Mr. and Mrs. Claus while staff handed out books and presents.
A similar event was also held in St. Catharines. Between the two, 50 families and volunteers came out to celebrate.
Children were happy to be out and see the staff, said mentoring co-ordinator, Karen Thompson.
The kids have certainly grown since the last time she’s seen them, Thompson said. “This is the first in-person visit in a while.”
The annual party allows Big Brother Big Sister staff to see children who are matched with adult mentors and for children on wait-lists to get involved without a mentor.
“It went pretty well, for pivoting to something for fun and exciting for our littles, I think it was a success,” said special events co-ordinator, Mary Champ.
Fundraising for the mentor-child matching organization, with a variety of programming both in and out of schools, has taken a $300,000 hit this year, with special events unable to go forward as planned.
That makes up around 75 per cent of their annual funding from special events, says Champ. Each initial child-mentor match ends up costing around $1,000 for the organization.
Last year, they were able to serve at least 1,040 children, but this year, numbers are far lower at around 710, according to Champ. There are another 200 children on a wait-list to be paired up with mentors — something the organization also needs more of.
Children paired up with screened adult mentors, Thompson says, benefit from undivided attention and social outings, which builds self-esteem and their social circles while exposing them to new experiences and events, like the Christmas party.
“Everybody needs a person who will give one-on-one time,” Thompson said.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is looking for mentors who can be big brothers or big sisters for children in the community and are accepting donations to assist with programming.
For more information, visit the Big Brothers Big Sisters of North and West Niagara Facebook page.
Update - Dec. 7, 2020: This article has been edited from a previously published version to correct facts and figures provided by Big Brothers Big Sisters North and West Niagara.
- Jordan Snobelen, Local Journalism Initiative, Niagara This Week
