Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John Launches PROPEL Program in St. Andrews

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John has a large presence in Charlotte County with satellite centres in both St. George and St. Stephen as well as a newly launched PROPEL Program in Saint Andrews. The Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentoring program is also available in any community. 

Rhoda Welshman and Charlene Perry of Big Brothers Big Sisters Saint John said being a mentor themselves has been a life-changing opportunity to be a role model to talk to and share the experiences of growing up with a younger person from their community. Through regular outings, a relationship is developed between the mentor and the mentee, which is built on trust and common interests, and is supported by BBBS experienced case-workers. 

"We match people we think will be a good fit," said Perry. "It's not just about whose names are on the top of the list. We want to match people with common interests. My mentee is 19 right now. I've had the privelege of watching her grow up and graduate."

Welshman and Perry have recently launched the Big Brothers Big Sisters PROPEL program in Saint Andrews at the local Youth Centre. PROPEL is module-based learning opportunities that equip young people ages 14-21 with new skills and exposing them to opportunities that build better self-awareness and confidence to make informed decisions for their education and career goals. It gets them ready for their career path while enhancing their life skills. Students are given opportunities to work in groups and one on one with staff and mentors from the community to support their short and long-term goals.

"We have guest speakers speak to the kids in the PROPEL Program about their jobs, particularly jobs the kids are interested in," said Welsman.

Hearing first-hand from a professional about what a career path is really like gives kids in the PROPEL program the opportunity to ask questions and find out if a career path they've been thinking about piques their interest. The Saint Andrews PROPEL program is only the second PROPEL program to launch in the province after the pilot program in Saint John.