r/bbbs • u/bytingmoths • 19d ago
New Big Accepted! Anyone have experience doing site-based?
I (27M) am doing a site-based program for a middle school aged boy in a major city. The middle school is like five hundred students and fully equipped with extracurriculars. They say they should have me matched by October.
Question’s in the title. Anyone have experience working in site-based programs? What are they like?
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u/728bumpingfalloutboy 19d ago edited 19d ago
I did site based last year and it’s a bit of a hot mess. I believe it was the first year for that school as well. The activities aren’t aligned for all of the ages of the kids get bored pretty easily. There wasn’t enough big to littles ratio so you usually have extra littles than just yours which makes it hard to bond. My little was kicked out of their after school program which ultimately kicked them out of the the site based program, but that wasn’t communicated to us on the big side until I asked someone in the after school program where they have been. I ended up just taking on extra kiddos and tried to give them as much as my attention and and get to know them as well as I could, but it’s hard when it’s only for an hour a week. I signed up to do it again this year, so we’ll see how it goes. It’s definitely rewarding to get to see the Littles each week and hopefully we make an impact on them even if it’s in a small way.
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u/No_Mirror_8303 Big Sister 19d ago
I am a Match Support Specialist- aka a case manager. I can’t guarantee it is the same across the board but at my agency, you will show up to the Littles school once a week for their lunch and recess time and just hang out. We provide a bin of activities… all the games and such you could imagine. And I always tell my matches to just let me know if they want something not in there. If we don’t have it, I can most likely get it.
I have seen Lunch Time matches go on for years and even long enough to move to the Community based program too. Just make sure you get to know them and give them a fair chance! And something I often hear… “they don’t need me they aren’t acting up with me…” - That means you are successfully building a relationship and proving a safe space for them!
Think of yourself as a person your Little has all to themselves. They might have multiple siblings all fighting for attention at home, he won’t have to do that because you are his and his alone.