A Match!

If you are interested in becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister I found the process quite simple. Everyone at BBBS has been very helpful and made the entire process quite easy. The steps to become one are:

1. Inquire. Inquire today to speak with a Customer Relations Specialist at Big Brothers Big Sisters. I went online and filled out the form with my contact information.

2. Apply. After you inquire online, a Customer Relations Specialist will contact you to complete the application offline. After a few hours of filling out the online form a Customer Relations Specialist contacted me. He offered to answer any questions I had and then went to setup my interview. He also sent out the application paperwork and an information packet.

3. Interview. An Enrollment & Match Specialist (EMS) will interview you in person. I was nervous about the interview but it was the easiest part of the whole process. The Enrollment & Match Specialist and I sat down and filled out all the required forms first. Then she asked me questions about me and my history and gave me a chance to ask any questions I had. I was unsure on what boxes to check on some of the forms and she helped me get everything in line. She also spent some time telling me what to expect and shared some of her experiences as a Big Sister.

4. Background Check. Child safety is our priority, so we’ll review your records to ensure you’ll be a good fit for our program. And review my records they did. The only snag in the background check was because I’ve only lived in Washington for a year and they needed at least two years of driving records. So my Enrollment & Match Specialist mailed me the necessary forms which I filled out and sent off to Oregon. The background check was the longest part of this entire process for me. Not that I wasn’t prepared for a wait, state agencies aren’t known for being speedy.

5. References. You’ll need to provide at least three references of people who can attest to your ability to be a mentor. This wasn’t difficult. One of the references had to be my supervisor who had worked with me for at least a year. My boss was happy to provide a reference and he’s been very supportive. The other two references had to people not living with me, who I had known a year and had seen me interacting with children. jamee13 and qt3_14159 jumped at the chance to provide references. I’m still blushing from what they wrote. I also have to thank dreamingcrow for offering to provide a reference. My Enrollment & Match Specialist also interviewed hollyqueen and cheesentoast because we share the apartment.

6. Matching. We will review the kids in your area who need a Big Brother or Big Sister and find the best fit for you. Depending on your gender and the kind of child you’d like to work with, matching may go very quickly or take some time. Making the right match is important to our commitment to form lasting relationships. I have no idea about how long it takes to make a match on average but for me it didn’t take any time at all. I’ve already been matched with a Little Brother and we’ll meet for the first time next week.

I want to cover the matching part of the process a little bit more. For myself it was the biggest area of mystery about the whole thing. As her title suggests the EMS interviews the Bigs and the Littles and finds a matching pair. The following steps are followed to make a match:

1. The EMS introduces the Little to the Big and and shares some information about him. The Big then makes the decision to go ahead with the match or not.

2. The EMS then introduces the Big to the Little’s parents. They are given information about the Big and his background. The parents then make the decision to move ahead with the match or not.

3. The EMS finally sets up the initial meeting between the Big and the Little and their family. At this point the EMS moves to the background and the Match Support Specialist (MSS) enters the picture. The MSS goes to the initial meeting and supports the Big and Little during their match.

With a match in mind my EMS called me and told me about the Little she had matched with me. I learned about his hobbies, family life, school and what he wished for in a Big. We talked about how the two of us matched and what we had in common. It sounded like a good match to me and I gave the go ahead for the next step. The Little’s parents agreed as well so now I have an appointment setup for our first meeting.