Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ireland's mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of young people and society through a professionally supported one-to-one friendship with a caring older volunteer.

There are two strands to the Big Brother Big Sister Programme;

Community Based Programme

Volunteer, Big Brother/ Sister spends 2-3 hours a week with their Little Brother/Sister and commits to being matched for a year. Together they can decide the type of activities they would like to do, whether it is shopping, watching a football match or even just having a coffee and a chat.

It is through these activities that a friendship is formed and within this friendship the young person can learn new skills and enhance existing skills, whilst enjoying themselves in the process.

Schools Based Programme

BBBS is operating a mentoring programme in the schools. The aim is to provide additional support to young people who have made the transition from primary to secondary education.

The programme matches first year students with senior cycle students. They meet once a week for a school year and participate in games, sports, making lunch etc in the school.

Similar methods of intake, implementation, recruitment, training and supervision are used in the schools as in the community-based programme. In each school, there is a designated teacher who links in with the local BBBS Officer.