Big Brothers and Big Sisters Lacombe has been keeping very busy in the community and is looking forward to running a few events and programs Here’s a look at what the organization has been up to.

Kids’n Kops

Kids'n Kops is back and happening from June 4th to 7th. Within 20 minutes of opening registration, the organization’s Kid’n Kops Summer Camp was completely filled up. 

“Kids and cops is a collaborative summer day camp that happens early in July with the Lacombe Police force and the Blackfalds RCMP. They donate a lot of their officers to the camp and then we have 24 youth join us from the communities here. They get to kind of learn about crime solving and being a police officer and just really make that mentoring connection with them,” explained Executive Director of Big Brothers and Big Sisters Lacombe, Breanna Berthiaume.  

Berthiaume says lots of kids who are interested in police work take part in the camp but it’s also a great opportunity to promote a positive relationship with police.  

Group programming at local schools

Group programming is also taking off at local schools this week. Berthiaume says a few more schools have decided to run group programs which help to promote healthy relationships and living. The programs include ‘Go Girls’ for Grade 5 girls and ‘Game on’ for Grade 5 boys.  

“It's a four-week program in the school where they learn about healthy relationship development and kind of that self-esteem, and problem-solving skills. They do like mindfulness exercises and then with the ‘Game On’ program they do a little bit more physical fitness and learning some leisure skills for life,” explained Berthiaume.  

The program is currently running at eight different schools in the community.  

“We have a couple new schools on board and again we're open to serving more as we can go along here. It's really exciting to see those programs take off and continue to grow year by year,” added Berthiaume.  

Walk for Kids Sake

Walk for Kids Sake is happening for a second year in local schools. Walk for Kids sake isn’t just a walk but an obstacle course challenging problem-solving skills. It was started in the midst of the pandemic and held instead of Bowl of Kids Sake which was not possible with the ongoing restrictions in 2021. Berthiaume said last year, the event saw a lot of success.

“This year, we stuck with our Walk for Kids Sake and we haven't brought back the Bowl for Kids Sake, but I have had a few requests definitely for the Wii bowling. We definitely are having conversations.  If there's a smaller version of that, we might be able to do in the future because people are definitely missing it,” she explained.

Need for Mentors and Volunteers

As usual, Big Brothers and Big Sisters Lacombe always has a need for more mentors for kids in the community. Berthiaume says need often slows during the summer months but continues.

“If we have 100 mentors, walk through our door, there's some small kind of thing [we need them for]. We're always in need of more volunteers and youth are always in need of one extra additional role model in their life,” said Berthiaume.

There are a variety of different mentorship opportunities including mentoring as a couple or pairing, in-school mentoring, and community based. For more information you can visit the Big Brother’s Big Sisters website here.