Mentee Opportunities

Organization: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island (BBBSRI) has been a cornerstone of youth development in our state for nearly 60 years. Founded in 1966 through the Zonta Club of Providence, our work began with a focus on mentoring girls during a time when few formal programs existed to support their social-emotional growth. Over the decades, our organization has evolved to respond to the changing needs of Rhode Island’s youth and families. In 2010, recognizing the unmet needs of boys in the state, BBBSRI expanded its services to include boys, and in 2014, further solidified its statewide reach and capacity by merging with the former Big Brothers of Rhode Island. This unification marked a major milestone in expanding our Community-Based Mentoring model to serve more youth regardless of gender, background, or ZIP code. Today, BBBSRI is the oldest and largest youth mentoring organization in Rhode Island, providing consistent, evidence-based, trauma-informed mentorship to young people ages 7–25. In 2024, we celebrated a 90% match retention rate—well above the national average—and significant improvements in youth-reported outcomes such as emotional regulation, peer relationships, and future orientation. Our program model is not only time-tested, but also responsive to the pressing challenges faced by today’s youth. Our mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. We strive to ensure every young person feels seen, supported, and inspired to thrive.

Opportunity: We are actively enrolling Mentees into our mentoring program. We have our traditional 1:1 mentoring program where a young person is paired up with a positive adult in the community and they are able to build and establish a mentoring relationship to work on goals, experience new opportunities and have someone positive in your corner. We also have another program called Real Skills Young Adults, which is open to ages 15-25 where young adults can learn essential real skills, like CPR/First Aid, how to apply for a job, budgeting, and much more.

Note: This opportunity is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese