Island Ford’s Giving Plan: Big Brother’s Big Sisters of the Cowichan Valley

As a part of the Island Ford 2017 Giving Plan, our staff is volunteering throughout the community to support local charities and give back to the community that supports us. Our first charity of 2017 was Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Cowichan Valley, which hosted "Bowl for Kids Sake" on March 5th at the Duncan Bowling Alley. This annual event takes place across Canada. You can find your local Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, and learn more about "Bowl for Kids Sake," here:
https://bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/event/bowl-kids-sake/

Big Brothers Big Sisters works to ensure that "every child in Canada who needs a mentor has a mentor". By matching youth to role models and mentors they work towards helping children reach their full potential. If you've heard the saying "it takes a community to raise a child," this is the organization that puts those words into action. Big Brothers Big Sisters has been operational for 100 years, and have over 40,000 children matched with volunteers.

Despite the large number of children that are matched with volunteers each year, there are still many youth who are on a waiting list to get a mentor. There are many different mentoring programs to choose from, such as in-school programs, group programs, and long-term, one-to-one matches. If mentoring isn't your thing, you can still partake in fundraisers, like "Bowl for Kids Sake". The Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Cowichan Valley also has a program called "Clean Out Your Closet…for Kids!". You can donate gently used clothing, linens, and cloth goods at the following locations: Island Savings in Chemainus at 3055 Oak Street, and Big Brothers Big Sisters Office at 60 Ingram Street, Duncan.

Whether you want to learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Cowichan Valley, help at a fundraiser, or become a mentor, you can find more information here: https://www.bbscowichan.ca/