The Buddy Program strengthens our community by guiding and inspiring youth through mentoring.
The Buddy Program aspires to make our community a better place to live, work and play by providing mentoring and support services for our youth. Our successful history has shown that mentoring relationships fill our Little Buddies with hope and joy and provide a safe and nurturing environment which sets them up for success later in life. Under the guidance of its nonprofit Board of Directors, the Buddy Program aspires to be a leading mentoring organization by providing quality professional services through a well educated, diverse and dedicated staff.
What is The Buddy Program?Since 1973, the Buddy Program has been pairing screened and trained adult volunteer mentors with young people, ages 6-18, from Aspen to El Jebel, Colorado. Children are paired with an adult Big Buddy in either the Community program, School-based program, or with a high school student in the Peer-to-Peer program.
Children are referred by teachers, counselors, parents, social services case workers or they simply refer themselves. Over the course of a year, pairs spend time together by participating in a variety of activities. During these get togethers, Buddies talk, share common interests while developing new ones, and share their life experiences, all while having a great time together!
With supervision and support from Buddy Program staff, Big Buddies provide encouragment, guidance, and coaching as Little Buddies face new challenges and decisions, build new friendships, and develop a sense of responsibility.
It's about inspiration...a unique opportunity to provide our local young people with positive mentors from our community.The mentoring partnerships motivate and inspire our children and help them to realize the vital connection between a complete education and future success.
Who are our Big Buddies?They are adults from the community who volunteer their time and develop a relationship with a child. Big Buddies make a minimum of a one year commitment to spend time with their Little Buddies providing them with the constructive example, trust and love they need to succeed in life. The relationship between a Big and Little Buddy helps the child grow mentally, emotionally and academically, ultimately helping them succeed in life by reaching their goals.
The following are benefits of mentoring outlined on the www.mentoring.org website:
- Improving self-esteem
- Keeping young people in school
- Helping improve academic skills
- Leading young people to resources they might not find on their own
- Providing support for new behaviors, attitudes and ambitions
- Increasing young people's ability to seek and keep jobs
- Enhancing parenting skills
How much time do I need to be able to commit to a Little Buddy?
We ask that you commit to at least one year and during the year that you meet anywhere from 3 to 4 times a month, 1 to 3 hours each time in our Community program or 1 hour a week over the course of a school year in our School-based program.
Who are our Little Buddies?
They are children from Aspen to El Jebel, Colorado between the ages of 6-18 who need companionship and guidance. While many children are in the Buddy Program simply because their parents work several jobs to live in this valley, or some are referred because of the death of a parent, abuse, social or peer problems, or they have special needs.
What is the process of getting into The Buddy Program?
The potential volunteer completes an application and has an interview with a Buddy Program case manager, attends a two hour long training and undergoes background and reference checks. The Little Buddy and his or her family are also interviewed and an interest inventory is completed. The Little Buddy and Big Buddy are then matched to someone who has similar interests and hobbies.
What do Big and Little Buddies do together?
What activities does the Buddy Program offer?
The list below highlights a few of the recent activities that The Buddy Program has offered over the last couple of years. The activities are always free to any Buddy pair that is interested.
- Up 4 Pizza and Aspen Skiing Company collaborated on an activity in which a number of Buddy pairs took a snow-cat up to Up 4 Pizza, where they spent the evening making their own pizza, getting to sleep in the restaurant and ski in fresh, untracked powder the following morning!
- Little and Big Buddies, along with Seniors from the Aspen Senior Center and Heritage Park Senior Center in Basalt, baked and decorated over 20 dozen holiday cookies for Buddy Program supporters.
- We have had numerous activities at the Aspen Art Museum where Big and Little Buddies had the opportunity to get privately curated tours and then sit down to emulate the showcased artist's style.
- We gave out Gingerbread houses for Buddy pairs to construct at home.
- We hold an annual Buddy Ski Day at Buttermilk Mountain.
- Buddies worked together on making mugs, plates and tiles as well as their own creations at The Carbondale Clay Center.
- We have held a number of dance classes, including tango and salsa, as well as martial arts activities including an Aikido workshop.
- We held the 2nd annual performing arts camp which taught 30 children new songs, dance steps and theatrical expression.
- We have the annual Buddy Celebration dinner, held at the St. Regis, where Big and Little Buddies, along with their families get to enjoy delicious food, meet other Buddies and dance the night away!
- Buddies had the special opportunity to learn fly fishing techniques and were able to use them on the Frying Pan with a local expert.
- A hut trip to Betty Bear Hut. This was a unique opportunity for Buddy pairs to visit one of our back-country huts and experience and explore our wonderful outdoors.
- In conjunction with Timberland and The Student Conservation Association,we held a workday to re-vegetate the area around the Coal Seam Fire in Glenwood Springs, CO.
- We have held a number of cooking classes as well as tours of sustainable gardens and farms with our Buddy Pairs.
- Community Program mentoring
- School-based mentoring
- Peer-to-Peer mentoring
- Experiential Programs
- Free group activities
- Monthly case management
- Youth counseling
- Scholarships for extra-curricular activities for Little Buddies
- Enhanced case management
- Liaison between Little Buddy's family and various referral agencies
- Volunteer screening
- Background checks
- Introductory and advanced volunteer training
- The pairing process
- Volunteer recruitment
- Community education
We are very grateful to the following foundations for their support of our organization and programs:
