Abi and Leslie have a special sister relationship.
The kind that has them singing Sweet Caroline as loud as they can in the car. Making wreaths together at Christmas, painting pottery, and going skating.
Leslie bids farewell to Abi, telling her she hoped her night was "so good, so good, so good."
They aren’t sisters by blood, but they are a perfect match.
Abi is eight years old and is a “Little” in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program. Leslie is a mother of two grown boys and a secretary at Abi’s school, she’s a mentor in the same program. Abi lost her mother and brother and she lives with her grandparents. She heard about the Big Sisters program at school and her grandparents helped her sign up to be matched.
Abi and Leslie get together once a week for two to four hours for an activity like seeing a movie, taking a pottery class, swimming at Plunge or family dinner at Leslie’s house, where her two grown sons refer to Abi their little aunt.
“It’s kind of like she’s my mom, but she’s my friend,” said Abi.
This is Leslie’s second time as a mentor. Before Abi she was a Big Sister to a “little” boy for two years.
“It’s something I always thought I’d be interested in,” said Leslie. “I like mentoring. I like making a difference and giving the Littles some emotional support they might not get otherwise.”
Abi is a social, active 8-year-old. She loves gym class and when she grows up she wants to be a “florist, a teacher, a tattoo artist, a paramedic and a veterinarian.”
Her favourite part of the Big Sisters program is all the fun she has with Leslie.
“I think people deserve to have fun, and to enjoy things,” she said. “It’s good because [the mentors] have memories of when their kids were young and they have more now. And it builds relationships.”
Cathy Couttie is the casework manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Georgian Triangle. She said there’s currently a waiting list of 12 kids looking for mentors in the areas between Meaford, Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, Clearview Township and Thornbury. Typically girls are matched quicker than boys.
Big Brothers Big Sisters also runs other activities for kids such as Boys Club, a kids and cops program, and an in-school mentoring program.
Click here for more information about volunteering as a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters Georgian Triangle.
You can also have a beer to support Big Brothers Big Sisters. This month at Collingwood Brewery 50 cents from every can of freestyle beer sold at the brewery will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Georgian Triangle.
On March 23, there will also be a gala fundraiser called Local Beer and Community Cheer at the brewery. Tickets are $20 and the evening includes live music, a 50/50 draw, brewery tours and a silent auction. Tickets are available for sale at 74 Hume Street in Collingwood.
Chris O’Connor is the sales manager at Collingwood Brewery, and he’s looking forward to a great party on gala night that he claims will “blow your socks off.”
“This is why we built the brewery here,” he said. “We want to make sure we support the local community. We wanted the space to be a multi-functioning community facility.”
*Last names have been left out due to Big Brothers Big Sisters privacy policy.
