Laura Duong

Bullying is rampant in our schools. A 2013 study by Ipsos Reid shows that 59% of Canadians said they suffered abuse by bullies as a child or teenager and 45% believed they suffered lasting harm as a result. That’s half of Canada’s entire population affected by bullying. But, Big Sisters can play a pivotal role in turning that around. Girls with a Big Sister are four times less likely to bully than girls without a mentor. Plus, 92% of adults who had a mentor as a child feel confident and 96% say they’re happy. Here’s the story of one of our Little Sisters who struggled with bullying before being matched with her Big Sister. “When you’re little… you don’t have the […]

“I’ve always wanted a big sister, a real one, ‘cause I’m an only child,” says Little Sister Olivia. “Most of my friends have older sisters, and it looks really fun.” But when Olivia was nine, she was diagnosed with anxiety and it was bad enough that she spent an entire summer indoors with her mom. “I could barely leave the house without feeling scared,” says Olivia, now 11. Her mom signed her up with Big Sisters and Olivia was matched with Ally, a 21-year-old kinesiology student. When the two first met a year ago, they were both nervous, but setting a goal for their relationship helped to get them on track. The goal they decided on was for Olivia to […]

“We’re really not big planners,” laughs Samantha. “Whenever we get together we love to just go with the flow and see where the day takes us.” “It’s true,” continues Cassandra. “Sometimes we’ll plan on doing a specific activity, but most of the time we end up doing something completely different.  “One of our favourite things to do together is play “tourist” in our own city,” says Samantha. We like to visit local attractions, taking the Big Bus tour downtown, and visiting the aquarium. I think we’re looking at the zoo next.” “And we should definitely go ice skating again!” chimes in Cassandra. “Can you tell that we’re spontaneous?” laughs Samantha. Both Big and Little Sister continue laughing as they recall […]

Reflecting on her own childhood, which was challenged with dysfunctional family dynamics, Cori states that she and her Little Sister, Tianna, are incredibly well matched, likely because they had similar childhoods. Despite initial nervousness, Cori and Tianna’s relationship has blossomed into an affectionate, compassionate, and fun-filled friendship.   “We were both nervous at first. I took a photo of us on our first day together and you can tell from our body language that we were both very timid—the affection wasn’t there yet—but now we’re at the point where we can say we love each other and give bear hugs!” After more than two years of being matched, Cori can see the transformations in Tianna. “I’ve noticed that Tianna likes […]

As the holiday season approaches, we thought we’d share this throwback letter from one of our Little Sisters, Darci. Here’s what she has to say. “My mother introduced me to the idea of having a Big Sister when stresses in my life were getting to me. There was a time when we did have an acceptable amount of money and when I did have friends, but one day all that seemed to disappear and, as I look back now, there were a lot of events that led up to me needing a Big Sister. My parents split up when I was young and that caused me to feel even more fearful and unstable. I had already witnessed violence and a […]

We talk a lot about how mentoring impacts the mentee, but what you don’t hear as often is how  our Big Sisters and families are impacted too. Here are three quotes we wanted to share from one of our matches who was matched for seven years. Sandy, Little Study Buddy Dominique’s Mom When my daughter had a psych assessment in grade four, I was informed of her learning disabilities. We were asked to leave the school (French Immersion) and find another school that would suit her needs. I was so upset, confused, and scared. It was a teacher at Dominique’s new school that suggested the Study Buddy program. How very grateful I am for that suggestion. Meeting Thea has been […]