Big Brothers Big Sisters, Laurens County Schools set to renew partnership

East Laurens and West Laurens High Schools will be expanding support services to students identified by school faculty and staff as being in need.

DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia is renewing its mentor partnership with the Laurens County School District after a 13-year hiatus.

East Laurens and West Laurens High Schools will be expanding support services to students identified by school faculty and staff as being in need. Betsy Fitzgerald, the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia, says the program is not starting small in its return.

“We anticipate serving up to 100 students in this first year at West and East Laurens High School,” Fitzgerald said. “Mentors are going to be embedded into the school ,so during the school day, they’ll have one-on-one and group mentoring opportunities with their mentor that they are assigned to, and they’ll also have an opportunity to chat with them and hang out when it’s just fun time, like during lunch or before school. So we make sure that they have consistent services and engagement and know that someone is going to be there for them no matter what.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia stopped working in Laurens County Schools in 2011 due to funding cuts. School leaders say issues facing students today make now the perfect time for a reunion.

“This partnership provides a huge avenue to us having even more resources to address the mental health issues that we’re currently seeing today,” said Dr. Otha Hall, the Associate Superintendent of Secondary Education for the Laurens County School District. 

Dr. Hall believes the mental health crisis teenagers face today make the services of Big Brother Big Sister all the more important. He hopes the next phase of the new partnership is training high school students who have benefited from the program to mentor middle school students.

“Academics are important, CTAE courses are important, athletics are important, but so are skills and building character,” Dr. Hall said. “And what the Big Brothers Big Sisters program allows students to do is take on leadership qualities and take on mentoring qualities and skills to mentor and lead others. And we feel like those are qualities that can help take them through life.”