Hanna Billington, mentor coordinator [03/27/2006]

To the editor:This is the first year Big Brothers/Big Sisters has asked the Town of Conway to allocate monies for the mentoring programs we offer to the towns of Conway.Unfortunately, our petition was not well-received by either the board of selectmen or the budget committee. Though we will be on the warrant article, I would like to clarify for the voters the importance of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters programs.Big Brothers/Big Sisters matches children and carefully screened volunteers with the goals of strengthening that child's idea of self-worth, resiliency and confidence. This one-to-one relationship helps a child grow toward social and emotional maturity while also just having fun. In the 100 years that the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization has been involved in children's lives, it has been proven that a child who is mentored will do better in school, get along better with peers and family, and will feel better about themselves.Since 2003, BBBS in Conway has served 150 children through our school, community and group mentoring programs. Though the number is small, the impact has been immeasurable.Federal funding is running low, preventative programs are being cut, but the needs have increased. Conway, we need your support to maintain and expand a proven program for the children of our community. Please consider voting yes for our "bigs" and "littles" in April.Thank you for your consideration, and feel free to contact me with any questions.