When it comes to a child’s development, strong relationships with caring role models have an outsize impact that positively affects a child for life. It takes a community to raise a child, and for young pre-teen girls, a mentor can be everything. That’s where the Big Sister Mentoring Program comes in.
For the past 16 years, the Big Sister Program has made it their mission to promote healthy, supportive and enduring friendships through its mentorship program. Started 16 years ago by Hindy Pruss of Crown Heights, the program seeks to help local teenage girls by creating relationships for them that they may not otherwise have access to. The program pairs eighth grade age girls with a post-seminary-aged mentor with whom they can develop a “big sister-like” relationship grounded in mutual understanding and a comfortable, transparent bond.
The formula is simple: the mentor and mentee meet up once a week to connect over anything from shopping to a cup of coffee, studying for an upcoming test or playing a board game.
The result is nothing short of amazing. Parents, teachers, mentors and mentees alike see the power of true mentorship. In an unpressured, relaxed setting, our young girls are free to express themselves to an attentive adult. They are heard, encouraged, and supported.
The Big Sister Program’s highly personalized approach matches girls to their big sister mentor based on a variety of specific factors such as personality, temperament, and interests. Mentors are empowered with the skills and resources to be best positioned to help their mentees by a host of carefully curated trainings throughout the year . The combination of post high school girls who are both caring and knowledgeable creates the space for our young girls to blossom in their new friendships. The girls can grow with the safety of knowing they have a role model and friend to help them navigate the most formative years of their lives.
The program works with all the major Crown Heights girls schools, including Beis Rivkah, Bnos Menachem, Chabad Girls Academy, and Bnos Chomesh. Over 1,200 girls have participated in the form of mentors and mentees. These numbers speak for themselves, attesting to the necessity and success of the program.
Chana Kastel joined the Big Sister Program when she was thirteen. “It was so nice to have a time where I felt able to be myself and connect with someone who understood me and wasn’t judging me,” she said. Now married, Kastel sees the program as a significant part of her maturation from a young teenager to a flourishing adult. In the grateful words of Hadassa BenShimon, a young woman who also joined the program at thirteen: “We would go for hot chocolate, sometimes on walks, get advice, share about your day. I really looked up to her, so much so that this year I joined the program as a mentor. I am very happy to give back the same experience that I got as an eighth grader.”
Many mentees maintain their relationships with their mentors well beyond eighth grade, reaping the benefits of having an older and wiser adult to turn to at all stages of adolescence and young adulthood. Chana Tatik, now 23, shared, “When I was in Eighth grade, we were told about the big sister mentoring program. I applied; I was really excited about it. I was able to talk and just chill (with my mentor). Now, 10 years later, I appreciate the relationship we have now. I have many questions, life has its’ twists and turns, and to have an extra person on your side- that is a G-d gift, really!”
For most of its history, the program was sustained through government funding and community support. Last year the government funding was cut, requiring Pruss to go independent if she wanted to keep the program alive. Seeing the necessity of the program’s continuance, the Crown Heights community stood to uphold the program.
Mrs. Dena Gorkin, principal of Bnos Chomesh Academy, works closely with the Big Sister Mentoring Program and has had a first-row seat to the pivotal impact of this program. “I hear from the parents, the teacher, and the girls. It builds character, the sense of belonging, and being cared for,” she said. “The Big Sister Mentoring Program changes lives.”
Let’s demonstrate that through our collective generosity and kindness we can nourish our children with the pivotal relationships to position them for success as they cross through one of the most important stages of their lives
From this Sunday through Friday the Big Sisters Mentoring Program is holding its primary fundraising campaign to ensure that the next generation of Crown Heights’ girls have the opportunity to have the precious relationship of an invaluable mentor.
HINDY AND VOLUNTEERS ARE AWESOME THANK U!
Please give generously – this is our children’s future!
The incredible affect this program has on our girls is unmatched. Thank you for this vital work
My daughter was assigned a big sister, who is her mentor and friend till this day now that they are both married with kids. During the ninth grade through 12th grade she was assigned such a big sister. It was a lifeline and a godsend. They maintained the relationship through seminary and dating and are extremely close friends today. She was patient understanding, supportive and loving when my daughter went through a ““crisis““ and girl drama. My daughter, being an only daughter, really benefited from having an older sister like relationship with a Caring and mature older girl. I hope… Read more »
Your work is so vital for our girls to have mentors that they can look up to and have a lasting connection which positively influences them! Keep up your incredible work!!
As a baal tshuva this would have been so helpful.
Yashaar Koach!
Mrs. Gorkin is a treasure, a truly gifted mechanechess; we are so fortunate to have her in our midst!
As someone who was personally helped by the big sister program: AN ESSENTIAL ORGINIZATION, EVERYONE GIVE GIVE GIVE – IT MAY VERY WELL PAY YOU BACK WHEN YOUR DOUGHTER OR GRANDOUTER NEEDS IT MOST.