Mid-Ohio Youth Mentoring has been providing youth mentoring services for the past 22 years. We feel these years have brought us much knowledge and understanding of how changing and evolving is the best way to meet the needs of today's youth.
We are excited to announce a change that will bring greater opportunities to the youth we serve through our mentoring programs. Our change didn't come lightly; after much discussion and careful consideration, the Board of Directors and Executive Director has decided to disaffiliate from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. This means we have discontinued our relationship with Big Brothers Big Sisters, but are excited to continue our same mentoring programs asMid-Ohio Youth Mentoring.
You probably have questions about the name change. Following are some answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Why are you changing your name to Mid-Ohio Youth Mentoring?
Our 22-yearrelationship with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been positive and their program is exceptional. It is, however, modeled after an urban or suburban population model - one that does not accurately represent the unique challenges we face in our North Central Ohio Counties (Richland, Crawford, and Ashland). While having the Big Brothers Big Sisters name associated with our program provided brand awareness, it was placing a financial strain on our services. BBBSA has changed their business model, and thosechanges will institute minimum requirements to be an affiliated agency. The changes included: a minimum number of full time employees per agency, and a much larger budget than can be sustained by small agencies such as ours. The new model proposed by BBBSA would not be viable here, but we felt we could not close our doors because our outcome studies have shown that the mentoring we offer improves the lives of the kids we serve, and ultimately makes our community stronger. We believe all individuals matter, not just those living in large urban areas.
Doesn't BBBS of America provide your mentoring programs with financial support?
Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Central Ohio did not receive funding from BBBS of America. In fact, we were required to pay BBBSA to be an affiliate, but there was no financial benefit from the affiliation. Basically, we were paying to use their name, images, and mandatory database. The cost for this was projected to increase in the coming years and this made affiliation cost-prohibitive for us and many other small and rural affiliates. By disaffiliating from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Mid-Ohio Youth Mentoring will be saving roughly $8,000 per year from affiliate dues and database maintenance fees.
Will your programming change?
No, at Mid-Ohio Youth Mentoringthe programming will look the same as it has in the past, just without the affiliation to Big Brothers Big Sisters. It's important to note that the name change will not affect our service delivery or quality of service.
Our top priority is, and always will be, the children and young people we serve. We want to assure all our community supporters, our volunteers, and the families of the children in our care that the name is all that will change. We will not sacrifice the safety of the children we serve, nor the supervision of our matches, and will continue to use the same rigorous background checks, interview processes, and support systems we have always used. We will apply the knowledge and expertise we gained from our former relationship with BBBSA and will continue to offer our life-changing relationships to the youth in our community. We are a small organization, but have remained in good standing for 22 years with the National BBBS organization. Our strong, positive reputation with BBBSA is reflected in the fact that they have allowed us to retain all the standards practices we currently use, all the legal and best practices forms, and processes that we have always used, and will continue to help us during this transition.
We are excited to be able to continue to provide quality, professionally supported mentoring to the youth of our community. We are a member of National Mentor Resource Center, Mentoring.org, and National Mentoring Institute for best practices.
Mid-Ohio Youth Mentoring
•1995 – 1999 Volunteers of America sponsored youth mentoring agency
•1999 – 2007 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Richland County
•2007 – 2018 Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Central Ohio
•2018 – forward Mid-Ohio Youth Mentoring
Will staff change?
No, our staff will not change. Jim Nicholson, our Executive Directorhas worked with BBBS for 17 years, and with just a simple name change,will continue to offer our quality mentoring services. Jim will continue as the Mid-Ohio Youth Mentoring Executive Director, and Thelda Dillon and Lindsay Coulter as Enrollment and Support Specialists.
Additional Questions?
We hope we can count on your continued support so that every child that needs a mentor can have the opportunity for that meaningful, and life-changing, relationship. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jim Nicholson ,Lindsay at , or Thelda at r call us at 419-525-4618.
380 N. Mulberry St., Mansfield OH 44902-1048 – (419) 525-4618