Grant allows "big" opportunities for participants in local mentoring program

Sarah Cummins

2/14/2002 12:00:00 AM

A recently awarded grant is providing Native American children with creative, innovative and culturally appropriate mentoring opportunities.

Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Isabella County received a $5,000 Populations of Color Grant from Prevention Network to help fund activities with Native American children. Currently, Big Brothers/Big Sisters staff and volunteers conduct an after school mentoring program at the Elijah Elk Cultural Center.

"We are the only Big Brothers/Big Sisters around the world, that we are aware of, that is working with a Tribe," stated Case Manager Angel Day. "We learned so much from Seventh Generation Program and appreciate Beaver [Pelcher] so much. The staff is so fired up and accepting of us. It would be great for other people to have this experience. I think that's their goal too-to break the barriers on a national level."

Currently, there are 16 Native American students participating in the after school mentoring program every Monday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Although the majority of the students are bused over from the Saginaw Chippewa Academy Binoojiinh Montessori, any Native American students are welcome to enroll. Students who do not attend the academy will need to provide their own transportation to the cultural center.

The grant is being used to plan off site events that couldn't be funded before. One upcoming event will be horseback riding.

"A lot of the planned events were suggested by the kids," stated Day.

Other activities will include touring the Nimkee Memorial Wellness Center and playing bingo with Elders from the Sowmick Senior Center. On Feb. 18, students, volunteers, Elders and academy staff will attend a cultural dinner. For this event, volunteers will research their family trees and cook a dish from their own cultural background.

"We know that prevention works best when it is culturally appropriate, and the projects receiving these special grants have been planned from within the target communities to meet specific prevention needs," stated Prevention Network Director Sheila Taylor in a recent press release.

Other upcoming activities include scavenger hunt coordinated by Ojibwe Substance Abuse Services and a trip to Chippewa Lanes.

Any Native American student in first through eighth grade can sign up for the program until Feb. 25. All activities are supervised by Big Brothers/Big Sisters staff and are coed. For more information, call Glenn Kauffman, Angel Day or Nora Lennox at (989) 772-5232 or Steven Alberts at (989) 775-4470.