Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Image: bbbs.org
Throughout his life, Barrett Wragg has sought opportunities to give back to the community. For four years, Barrett Wragg volunteered as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. This program pairs young individuals with a positive adult role model and encourages them to build a one-on-one relationship through a variety of events.
The effectiveness of the program was recently proven by a Public/Private Ventures study that involved 950 young participants in eight different agencies across the country. After 18 months, the independent agency found that participants were 46 percent less likely to use illegal drugs and 52 percent less likely to skip school compared to nonparticipants. In addition, participants reported more confidence in school and a stronger capacity for building healthy relationships with family members.
The study also confirmed the effectiveness of the program’s match initiative, which aims to pair younger participants with older role models that have similar backgrounds and interests. Participants matched through this initiative, rather than through random assignment, consistently spent more time together and continued their relationship for longer periods of time.
Barrett Wragg 