Margo Gray-Proctor has been selected to a Native American advisory council to Philadelphia-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
She will help guide the organization in its strategic efforts to expand one-to-one staff-supported mentoring services to help Native American children achieve in school and succeed in life, according to a prepared release.
The Advisory Council, which will meet quarterly, assembled for the first time in Philadelphia in early April. The group will support and guide Big Brothers Big Sisters and advise on matters of cultural competence as the national mentoring network increases its volunteer and donor base to serve more Native Americans.
With support from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Big Brothers Big Sisters established its Native American Tribal Community Initiative in 2008, according to a prepared release. The program serves more than 4197 Native American children, 42 percent of whom are matched with Native American mentors. Local Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliates serve 25 tribal reservation communities and 10 pueblos, where Native American staff, with the help of advisors and elders, carefully match youth with mentors and provide ongoing support to the adult volunteers, mentees and the children’s families. Big Brothers Big Sisters’ local affiliates are engaged with tribal reservation and urban/community-based businesses; educational and vocational training institutions; non-profit groups; and faith-based institutions that serve Native Americans.
By
Osage News
Original Publish Date: 2012-07-17 00:00:00
