Big Brothers Big Sisters of CT has been operating in CT since 1966 and is an affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the nation’s oldest youth mentoring program. Since 2012, the JPOFF has partnered with BBBSCT to help support the programming in the Windham public schools. Children (“Littles”) who participate in the program benefit greatly through the relationships they develop with their mentors (“Bigs”). During weekly sessions, Littles and Bigs utilize the Level Up – Social- Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum developed by BBBS to build and improve self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills and problem solving skills. There is also time for Littles to work on homework and engage in recreational activities with their Bigs.

With the two year grant awarded in 2023, BBBS of CT has been able to expand and enhance their one-to-one mentoring programs in Windham and in greaterHartford. In the first year of the 2023 grant, BBBSCT served 238 children between the two communities. As well, BBBSCT was able to extend their programming to high school students and offer a lunchtime mentoring program at Windham High School.