Sunshine Coast, British Columbia
The Sunshine Coast is a series of small communities strung along the highway leading from Langdale to Egmont. The overall population is just under 30,000. The traditional economy was based on the forest industry. More recently, the focus has been on tourism, and attracting early retirees.
In 2002, Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver received a phone call from Mark Stipech in Gibsons. Mark had just moved to the Sunshine Coast from Whistler, where he had been a Big Brother. He was interested in starting a Big Brothers Big Sisters program on the Sunshine Coast, and had already approached the local Rotary Club for funding assistance. They had indicated a positive interest. Staff of Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver gave Mark information on the possibilities of creating a satellite office and program, similar to what they had already begun to develop in Squamish.
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| The workshop was useful in bringing people together, giving them opportunities to ask questions about In School Mentoring, and beginning to identify the target group population for the pilot project. |
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Mark made contact with Bob Paulin, a Board member of one of the six community schools on the Sunshine Coast. Bob became interested in the idea of an In School Mentoring program, and began to do some work with the senior staff of the school district. Late in 2002, an initial meeting was held with the superintendent and other senior staff of the school district, staff from several community agencies, and staff of Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver. The discussions focused on moving forward on Bob Paulin’s dream of an In School Mentoring program. Such a program would be an enhancement to the volunteer tutoring programs that the school district had already established in several schools. In the meantime, Mark Stipech continued to seek support from local businesses for a Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Early in 2003, a follow up meeting was held to pursue the discussions about an In School Mentoring program.
As part of a broader project being undertaken by Big Brothers Big Sisters of B.C., an evening workshop was held on the Sunshine Coast to pursue the initial planning one step further. People from the school district, the community schools, the Rotary Club, and the Sunshine Coast Community Services Society attended, with an external facilitator. The workshop resulted in the creation of a local steering committee, with an immediate goal of developing a pilot In School Mentoring project.
The workshop was useful in bringing people together, giving them opportunities to ask questions about In School Mentoring, and beginning to identify the target group population for the pilot project. Agreement was reached to focus on young people who struggle in school because they are isolated, and have no adult champion. School staff estimated that there were at least 100 of these children. People also looked at the range of other programs for children and young people on the Sunshine Coast, and concluded that these programs did not generally respond to the target group.
The workshop was also useful in beginning to test out whether there would be a supply of volunteers ready to be In School Mentors, identify an initial estimate of the costs of the pilot project, and tentatively explore the organizational questions. While there was no formal agreement at the end of the workshop about the organizational issue, there was a clear concern that another new organization not be started. The possibility of a joint venture between Sunshine Coast Community Services, a multi-service agency with a long history on the Sunshine Coast, and Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver was suggested as the most likely approach.
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