big brother/big sister

[don s]

i don't know if this is in the wrong place. if it is i apologize and ask that it be moved to the correct forum. this happened a while ago and i am hesitant to post it. only because i don't know why it happened. for a long time i have thought of becoming a big brother to some young person who is interested in archery, hunting, fishing and camping. i read about it on their site, i called and asked questions. one thing i was concerned with was, i am not interested in football, baseball, hockey, basketball etc. their site stated that sometimes if your going fishing for the day, you can take a little brother/sister along, it's that simple. so, i talked with my wife and decided to give it a try. i want to say at this point that i am on ssd and don't have a lot of money. what i do have is time and desire to share with a young person. especially traditional archery. i dabble with making my own bows. i went ahead and applied. i filled out the necessary forms, my references filled out the necessary forms and submitted them. i went for the interview and was happy that i finally decided to give it a try. not much time passed and i received a form letter stating that we regret to inform you that we can't/won't place you with a child. to make matters worse, it's their policy to NOT give a reason(s). there is no way you can imagine how i felt. rejected isn't the word. i thought it may be because of the not doing the football, baseball etc. stuff. i brought that up in the interview and was told thats not a problem. i can't imagine why i was rejected. could it be because of wanting to take a child hunting? in the past i have sat through the ny state hunters safety course at least 7 times not only with my kids but also with a few that called me uncle and one kid from the neighborhood(with their parents permission). sorry for the long post. does anyone have any thoughts. don

[L. E. Carroll]

Your offer to Mentor was a wonderful decision  and you deserve a "Standing Ovation"    

[don s]

one of the biggest factors that influenced me to try is the fact that i grew up wanting to hunt,fish and camp. even though i grew up with a father in my life those were not things that interested him. i live in the city and am on the border of the wrong side of the tracks. i see these kids everyday and i know there has to be a few who would love to try archery. if it is because of anti hunting sentiments things need to be changed. i'm not putting down the organization and i want that to be clear. they are great at helping young people. they do a lot of good. the thing that bothers me the most is their policy of not telling you why you are rejected. perhaps it's something that can be fixed. maybe not. i'll never know. don

[GRINCH]

Don sounds like you have a good heart,keep up your interest in helping the kids you can from the neighborhood they will appreciate it and you might even change the course of their lives as well.

[jhg]

I participated in that program. Do not take it personally. They are very thorough and my advice is use the experience to grow.

Joshua

[cbCrow]

Don, I applaud your effort and can sympathize with you also. I was in the same situation when I started BB/BS in 2002. After having a 11 yr. old boy for about 4 months I asked my councelor if it would be alright if I started letting him shoot a bow with me. Now I had not said anything to the child and was basically testing the waters, she told me that they could not allow "Bigs" to do anything with the child that may endanger them. As a big you represent the organization and as such ,that would make them liable if the child was injured. So what it is probably boils down to who is going to accept the liability. Another thing I have learned from our insurance rep, is that if their is another person (child or adult) shooting with you on your place you are liable for anything that could happen. I don,t think it has to do with any agenda or PC but more from the standpoint of liability. So in the end it was probably to protect the child, you, and the organization.

[7 Lakes]

The kids get to fill out a "What do you want in a Big Brother" form.  If don't have the cash or will to take them to a bunch of ball games or other expensive "Stuff".  I doubt if there's a kid that wants you.  

My advice is to join up with a local Boy Scout program.  There are all kinds of merit badges the kids can earn & often there are no archery instructors or real outdoor types to help them.

[BWD]

I'd say it's their loss, sad but true. Now if you were highly skilled in playing computer games...