Annual Report 2021 - 2022

Message from the Chairman of the Board and the Executive Director

This past year has once again been one of adaptation, adjustment, and discovery.

We have successfully handled the challenges that came our way, both in terms of adjustments to our clinical practices, our remote working practices, the technological tools we use, and the challenges in terms of volunteer availability.

We can be proud of our accomplishments since the number of pairings has been stable, as well as the number of team members, amidst a changing philanthropic landscape.

Our mission is to create meaningful relationships and enable youth to ignite their full potential. It is thanks to all the people involved and committed daily that we can continue to do so.

Thanks to everyone for your daily efforts in accompanying the pairings and allowing them to shine.

Thanks to our volunteers for being so committed, available and fully invested in the relationship with the youth.

Thanks to the members of the Board of Directors for your dedication and commitment to the mission of our organization.

Thanks to all the people and businesses that contributed through their donations to help us keep offering quality services.

Overall, thank you to the entire Big Brothers Big Sisters family that surrounds us with kindness, that mobilizes and allows us to change lives.

Marc-André Thibault and Maxime Bergeron Laurencelle

Human resources

Maxime Bergeron Laurencelle - Executive Direction
Marine Papin - Executive Vice-President and Head of Human Resources
Sylvain Chaleteix - Marketing and Communications Director
Stéphanie Lavigne-Mayer - Funding and Event Coordinator
Angela Ripolo - Clinical Coordinator
Pascale Ruas - Head of Communications
Lyne Charron - Administrative Assistant
Charlotte Lemieux - Mentoring Coordinator
Crystal Alexander - Mentoring Coordinator
France Chaput - Mentoring Coordinator
Véronique Bélanger - Mentoring Coordinator
Omar Mustafa - Mentoring Coordinator
Guillaume Tremblay - Mentor Selection Manager
Saidul Miah - Mentoring Coordinator
Marianne Narbey - Mentoring Coordinator
Anaïs Légal-Ferrer - Mentoring Coordinator
Caroline Moreau - Mentoring Coordinator
Vincent Davis - Mentoring Coordinator
Mollie Arsenault - Mentoring Coordinator
Zoé Jacques - Mentoring Coordinator
Jérémy Blanchard - Philanthropic Officer
Émilie Bourbeau - Funding and Event Coordinator
Juliette Jannin - Director of Philanthropy

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Montreal team welcomed new members during the year and made talent development a core part of its human resource management practices.

Anaïs Légal-Ferrer

“Since joining BBBSGM in the fall of 2021 as a mentoring coordinator, I have had the opportunity to work with colleagues who are passionate about the organization’s mission. I was greeted with kindness, warmth, and openness, which helped a lot with my integration since we were all remote workers when I joined. I was able to find my place here and I can safely say that I strongly believe in the values of the organization. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Montreal is innovative, inclusive, and constantly striving to innovate and offer the most suitable service to meet the needs of youth. I am proud to be part of this team, to be able to participate in creating pairings and supporting them in their mentoring relationship. It’s truly inspiring to witness positive changes in youth and to watch them ignite their full potential. Thanks to the volunteers for their dedication and commitment to our service beneficiaries. Wishing success and great projects for the future!" - Anaïs Légal-Ferrer

The training of the next generation was carried out by welcoming and supervising trainees:

Darine Joanis - Intern

Strategic Planning 2021-2024

In an effort to maximize the number of youths benefitting from our services, here are our four main goals to achieve in 2021-2024. In 2021-2022, we followed this strategic planification and focused our efforts on the achievement of these goals.

GROW by increasing our notoriety

THRIVE by improving our financial health

MAXIMIZE the impact of our services

INNOVATE to improve our internal practices

PROGRAMS

Since the BBBS strategic planning process and, more specifically, the validation of the theory of change, we have clarified our programs, the type of relationship mentors should have with the kids, and the definition of the short-, medium-, and long-term impacts of these programs. All our clinical activities are therefore designed to maximize these impacts to ensure that youth ignite their full potential. We also feel very proud to have implemented measurement tools to track these impacts for youth, to validate that these changes are not just theoretical, but real and anchored in the lives of the youth who have benefitted from our services.

Mentoring in the community

The Community Mentoring Program is about creating meaningful mentoring relationships between the youth aged 6 to 21 years old and the volunteer mentors. Through regular and fun outings, the youth experience an inspiring and empowering mentoring relationship that ignites their full potential and tools them for the future.

222 pairings

School Mentoring

The school mentoring program is offered to elementary students in our partner schools in Montreal. Pairings meet in person or virtually to share activities during the school year, allowing mentors to help their youth build confidence with peers, persevere in school and develop self-esteem.

46 pairings

16 | 21 years old - The transition towards adulthood!

BBBSGM is proud to offer a new mentoring program to the community, rolled out provincially in collaboration with the CIUSSS and CISSS of each administrative region in Quebec. In collaboration with the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Ile de Montreal and the CISSS de Laval, BBBSGM is implementing the three-year pilot project in its area.

The project serves as a response to a recommendation from the Youth Committee on the Youth in Care Study, which identified the need for a mentoring program to facilitate the transition to independence for youth in care, along with the recommendation of the Laurent Commission (Special Commission on the Rights of the Child and Youth Protection) to implement a post-placement support program for youth in transition to independence through different measures, including social and community support.

The 16|21 Mentoring program is therefore intended for youth between the ages of 16 and 21, who are poorly aﬃlated or socially disaﬃlated, and receive services through the Youth Protection Act (YPA) or the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). A pairing with a mentor provides the opportunity to spend time with a supportive adult, who will act as an additional positive role model in their life. Through regular contact and meetings, the youth will be able to build an empowering and rewarding sharing relationship that will serve as a valuable additional resource to their safety net. As part of the development of the project, BBBSGM seeks to offer the matched youth an opportunity to interact in a setting outside the services received via youth protection, and a progressive empowerment.

4 pairings

Diversity and inclusion components

For several years, BBBSGM has made diversity and inclusion components a key part of its mentoring programs to better serve the needs of young mentees. Upon everyone’s request, a youth can be paired with a mentor who identifies with a community similar to their own. As well as providing a positive role model, the inclusive components allow young participants to discuss realities with their mentors, who are better able to understand and support them. Currently, these streams are offered to youth from Montreal’s Black communities, Indigenous youth, and youth identifying with the LGBTQ2+ communities.

12 pairings

Profiles of youth and families served

Kids

To better understand and serve our youth, BBBSGM has introduced a risk factor registry tailored from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) studies. These studies demonstrate the impact and consequences of these experiences on the overall brain development of the youth. Furthermore, it has been shown that increased and prolonged exposure to these factors results in a greater risk for youth to experience health and social diﬃculty in adulthood, especially when they lack adequate support and resources to overcome them. A youth with four or more of those experiences before age 18 is considered to be at very high risk of facing challenges in adult life.

43%

of youth currently paired in our program are considered very high risk

Risk factors

Social isolation or exclusion
Separation or divorce of parents
Youth protection services involved in the home
Exposure to alcohol or drug abuse
Exposure to a loved one living with a psychological disorder
Exposure to crime or imprisonment of a loved one
Being bullied or intimidating others
Witnessing violence
Being affected by the death or terminal illness of a loved one
Newly arrived in Canada
Exposure to abuse or financial stress
Exposure to a vulnerable employment standard
Living with a psychological disorder

Impacts

For the past year, the BBBSGM team has incorporated new tools and resources to maximize and measure its impact on young mentees, specifically regarding the Enriching Relationships. Through this process, we help mentors create and foster an inspiring relationship with their youth in which they demonstrate care, encourage their development, provide support, enable shared decision-making, and broaden their opportunities.

The enriching relationship allows the youth to discover themselves, develop necessary life skills and learn how to engage in the world around them. We also note impacts in several other aspects of their development over the short and medium term:

Improved emotional and social skills
Executive functions development
Improved well-being, mental health, and overall development
Increased school involvement

Onyx (LB) and François (BB)

In the last year, we asked youth to rate their relationship with their mentor on each of the five elements of a meaningful relationship. According to the Search Institute, a relationship is considered to be “enriching” when a young person feels that at least 4 of the 5 elements are present and adapted to their needs.

At BBBSGM, over 90% of mentoring relationships fall into this category.

Actions

Employer of choice

All year long, the management team and the board of directors worked to implement processes and tools to increase well-being at work, but also to allow staff members to grow professionally and personally, among other things. As a learning organization, we regularly question our clinical and human resources practices. We are an organization dedicated to ensuring that the performance of the team is tightly connected to the well-being of its members and their desire to contribute to the accomplishment of the organization’s mission.

Skills development and training

As an organization, BBBSGM is fully committed to the skills development of its team and promotes continuous learning as a lever to manage the career of its employees. That’s why a talent development plan is established and updated to provide a comprehensive range of training opportunities to benefit each team member. Here are some of the developmental activities available to the professional team:

MOJO - Youth and Mental Health Conference Day by Conférence Connexion
Training - Indigenous Perspectives on the Realities of Indigenous People
TransDiversity - University of Montreal’s online training on gender identity, transidentity and best practices for supporting trans people
Synopsis on teenager mental health
Great Solidarity - Training on equity, diversity and inclusion practises
Fears, doubts, and excessive worry - intervening with teens suffering from stress and anxiety
Fundamentals of Project Planning and Management - academic training provided by the University of Virginia
Paying it forward - Online training offered by BBBS Canada
Big Step to Success - Online training offered by GFGS Canada
Big Three - Online training offered by BBBS Canada
Enriching Relationships Training - by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Montreal
Understanding the Youth Protection Act - Training provided by CIUSS - Centre Sud
Symposium on Mental Health Promotion in Canada
Executive Function Training - Early brain and biological behaviour by Family Wellness Alberta
Eudonet, in-depth training on the use of a powerful CRM

Webinar Series:

Mentorat Québec: A Celebration of Mentoring
Indigenous Innovations in Youth Mental Health

Various activities

There were fewer social activities offered to youth, volunteers, and partners at certain times of the year due to restrictions related to COVID-19. The pairings still had the chance to go on several fun and rewarding outings such as rock climbing, bowling, live music, and sports games.

About 40 youths received school supplies and backpacks, greatly helping their academic success.

In celebration of the holiday season, BBBSGM hosted two Christmas parties where meals from a local restaurant were donated as well as gifts from several donors. Always in compliance with the sanitary measures of the moment.

Generosity continued after the holidays as more than 100 youth received quality winter coats from Aritzia.

Communications and marketing

In terms of communication, marketing and visibility of the organization, we try to deploy as much effort as possible in digital strategies. This increases the exposure of the organization and its activities, increases the amount of volunteer interest, and increases the revenue potential from individual and corporate donations.

Two major events have influenced our efforts and results in terms of communication and marketing: the dissociation of the La Collecte Foundation as well as the migration of our CRM. The Foundation’s contribution was significant for web traffic, whereas the migration of a tool as complex as a CRM leads to unforeseen events and significant change management. The implementation of the latter has caused a number of technical issues. Most of them are solved and continue to optimize our configurations.

Our new CRM will allow for better organization and eﬃciency along with increased long-term results.

Awareness raising actions were also given a secondary focus due to the management of an entirely new major fundraising event; the Mega-Bike.

We have nevertheless managed to increase our web traffic as well as our communities on social networks. Social networks are constantly growing and competition is fierce, therefore we expect a slow but steady growth.

Visibilité

Website: +More than 3,000 monthly visits (excluding the Foundation)
40,000+ subscribers to our newsletter and social networks
Most families and volunteers discovered us online
10+ media appearances (Radio-Canada, 98.5 FM, Salut Bonjour, etc.)

Philanthropic activities

Aside from the last two years, BBBSGM is an organization that thrives on donations from individuals and corporations. Government grants are helping us through this awkward pandemic period, but we still rely on our philanthropic activities to provide our services. Whether it’s a one-time or monthly donation, major or minor, planned donations or fundraising events, BBBSGM can count on the generosity of hundreds of individuals and organizations to continue to implement its mission.

Major Donations

The BBBSGM team rallied its talents and generous partners despite the financial challenges caused by the pandemic. The Major Gifts Program ended its financial year with a stronger result than last year with 24 gifts totalling $144,000. The average major donation is $18,500, an increase of 145%.

$144,000 raised

Philanthropic activity

Due to the still-present pandemic, no public events were held during the fiscal year to help raise funds. However, we have received several donations from individuals and corporations, for a total of $131,000.

$131,000 raised

Scholarship Program

Twelve youths were fortunate enough to receive scholarships ranging from $750 to $1,250, for a total of $22,000. Receiving these scholarships will certainly help youth to ignite their full potential.

$22,000 in scholarships

Financial Statements

Acknowledgments

Event Sponsors

Thank you to the partners who have offered their support this year!

Amazon, Hays, John Parisella, l’Orchestre Symphonique des Jeunes de Montréal, Quilles Bowl Canada, Centre d’escalade le Crux Boisbriand, Aritzia.

Special thanks to the members of the Board of Directors for their support and commitment throughout the year.

Members of the Board of Directors 2021-2022

PRESIDENT: Marc-André Thibault
VICE-PRESIDENT: Josée Desrosiers
TREASURER: Elie Daher
SECRETARY: Caroline Leduc

Administrators

Catherine Biron
Andrée-Anne Gauthier
Robert Gosselin
Daria Hobeika
Isabelle Jalliffier-Verne
Janothan-Joseph Michael
Janick (Niki) Murphy
Alain Racine

Philanthropic Committee

President : Janothan Michael
Vice President of Events: John Gumbley
Vito Italia
Stéphanie Napky-Couture
Maxime St-Denis
Raphael Melançon

Donors

Thank you to our donors, without whom BBBGS would not be able to have such a great impact.

$50,000 or more

$10,000 or more

Tenaquip Foundation
The William and Nancy Turner Foundation
Brian Riordan

$5,000 or more

Godin Family Foundation
Macdonald Stewart Foundation
Physio Extra

$1,000 or more

Logan Petit Pot Inc
Fondation Familles Lauzon et Provencher
Vincent Meslage
David Freiheit
Armen-Hagop Toumassian
La Fondation de la corporation des concessionnaires d’automobiles de Montréal
Benoit Family Foundation
Finance Quebec
Sandra Légaré
Elie Daher
Josée Desaulniers
John Gumbley

General Donors

ACOSTA RAMIREZ Sonia Lorena
AKCESSIA CONSULTING INC.
AL DEIRI Mohamed
ALANDE Coralie
ARANGO David
ARCHAMBAULT Fanie
AUGUSTIN Francesco
AUTHIER Annie-Claude
BABINEAU Philippe
BAKER Gillian
BANVILLE Katherine
BARRETTE Vincent
BARRY Kim
BCF AVOCATS D'AFFAIRES
BEAUCHER Pierrette
BEAUREGARD Diane
BEAUREGARD Line
BÉDARD Carole
BEGEY Nicolas
BEKERIDIS Minos
BÉLANGER Samuel
BÉLANGER Simon
BÉLANGER Thierry
BENHAMOU Benjamin
BERGERON LAURENCELLE Maxime
BERNIER Daniel
BERNIER Gabrielle
BÉRUBÉ Manon
BERZI Colette
BIGRAS Mélanie
BILLARD Francois
BILLOS Niki
BOIVIN Sandra
BORDELEAU François
BORDELEAU Martine
BOURBEAU Emilie
BOUTILIER Stéphanie
BRIERE Catherine
BRUCHER Stéphane
BUTLER Keifer
CABELLO Indra
CABRERA-GAGNON Dominic
CAMPEAU LANCTOT Julien
CAMPEAU-JETTE Audrey
CANADA HELPS.ORG
CARDIN Cynthia
CARMEL Nicole
CARON Josselin
CEGEP MARIE-VICTORIN
CHARITABLE IMPACT FOUNDATION (CANADA)
CHENEVERT Frederic
CHOUINARD Yvon
COLE Hayden
COLLETTE Daniel
CORBEIL-BESESKI Nicolas
CORMIER Christopher
COSENZA Agostino
COSTA Lorena
COUTURE-DUCHARME Pier-Alex
CURTIS Vincent
DE GONGRE Patrick
DE NIVERVILLE Cedric
DELISLE Gilles
DELISLE Valerie
DELORME Benoit
DEROME Raphaëlle
DESMARAIS Sophie
DESORMEAUX Candice
DONTIGNY Daniel
DOWNES Andrea
DRESSLER Myrond
DROLET Claudette
DUBOIS Francis
DUBOIS Josée
DUBREUIL-HUBERT Vincent
DUFRESNE Lise
DUQUETTE Sylvie
DUVAL-FRASER Anne-Tsin
ELLIOTT David A
EMOND Gilbert
FATOUROS Nick
FINANCES QUÉBEC
FINANCES QUÉBEC - DÉPUTÉ DE LAURIER-DORION
FONDATION FAMILLE BENOIT
FONDATION FAMILLES LAUZON ET PROVENCHER
FORTIN Marc
FORTIN Michael
FORTIN Serge
FREIHEIT David
FRONTSTREAM INC
GANTCHOVSKA Milena
GARNEAU Josee
GARNEAU-PROULX Olivier
GAULIN Francine
GÉNÉREUX Nathalie
GILBERT-CORLAY Sébastien
GIROD Elise
GIROUX Danielle
GIROUX Mireille
GOSSELIN-SAVARD Nicolas
GOULET Marie-Josée
GOYETTE Kiley
GRANGER Audrey
GRATTON Anne-Julie
GRONDIN Alexandre
GUERTIN Isabelle
HABERMAN Jordan
HAMEL Marie-Claude
HÉRITIER Vincent
HERNANDO Charlotte
HOBEIKA Daria
HOULE Stephane
JACKSON Stephanie
JALLIFFIER-VERNE Isabelle
JEAN Annick
BLANCHARD Jérémy
KAMENGE Chantal
KANANI Navid
KASSABIAN Noushig
KHAN Toshi
KOUSIC Stan
LABIB Cherine
LABRECQUE Marc-Alexandre
LAFLEUR Martin
LAFONTAINE Diane
LAFRANCE Simon
L'AFRICAIN Sonia
LALA Nitin
LAMONTAGNE Marie-Eve
LAPIERRE Nicole
LAROCHE Jean Pierre
LAROSE Francine
LAURENCELLE Suzanne
LAVOIE Marie-Andrée
LE CORRE Vaea
LEBLANC Alexandra
LEFÉBURE Aymeric
LEFEBVRE Eric
LÉGARÉ SANDRA
LEGAULT CLAUDE
LEJEUNE Christiane
LEMAIRE Denis
LEMAIRE François
LEMOINE Louis
LEPPANEN Maeva 'surf'
LESTER B. PEARSON SCHOOL BOARD
LEVESQUE Sylvain
LINTON Jonathan
LUIS BRAGA Vanessa
LUPU COHEN Zachary
MAILLOUX Sylvie
MAKAMBO Telesphore
MAKS Jennifer
MALDONADO Varinia
MARCHAND Alexandre
MCLEAN Jessica
MCMILLAN Rebecca
MESLAGE Gabriel
MESLAGE Olivier
MESLAGE Sébastien
MESLAGE Vincent
MICHAEL Janothan
MILLETTE Richard
MOISAN Gabrielle
MONFETTE Linda
MOURSY Maya
MUHAMMAD AMMAR Ali
MURPHY Niki
NAUTON Amaryllis
NORMAND Philippe
NORMANDEAU Eric
NOVIC Michael
OUDIN Annabelle
PARÉ Marie-Ève
PELLICANO Melina
PENA-HENRIQUEZ Hilda
PEREIRA Brian
PIGEON Olivier
PINSKY Randy
PION Normand
POIRIER Carolanne
POMERLEAU Philippe
PORCO Mélanie
POULIN Claudette
PRIVÉ Patrick
PROULX Laurent
PROULX Martin
PROVOST Catherine
RAINVILLE Louis
RAINVILLE Thomas
GRENIER Raphaël
RIBEIRO Louis-Filipe
RIENDEAU Marc-André
RIORDAN Brian
RIVET Nicolas
ROBERT Francis
RODRIGUE Caroline
RONDEAU Michel
ROSIER Eudeline
ROY Vanessa
RUEL Gaétan
SALERA Michael
SARKIS Sandra
SAVARIA Nathalie
SCHEIM Laura
SENNEVILLE Patrick
SHULAK Laura
SMITH Matthew
SOLOMON KATZ
SOUCY Sarah
STANDARD PRODUCTS INC
ST-LAURENT Lucie
SZABO Rose
SZABO Rose Marie
SZTRUCSKA Patricia
TARDIF Valérie
THIBAULT Jason
THIBAULT Marc-André
THOMASSIN Claudia
TOSI Daniel
TOUMASSIAN Armen-Hagop
TRAORE Kady
TREMBLAY Nicolas
TREMBLAY Nicolas
TRUDEL Marc
TRUDEL Marie-Eve
TURBIDE Bernard
VAILLANCOURT Ariane
VANBESELAERE Katya
VANDEPERRE Justine
VENANT Fabienne
VENNE Karel
VERREAULT GRENIER Olivier
VILLENEUVE Denis
VILLENEUVE Steven
VILLENEUVE Valérie
VINCENT Alexandra
VIVA FREI PRODUCTIONS INC.
VOLKHARDT Apollo
ZAKHEM George

Partners

Our inclusion components are developed in close collaboration with the following partner organizations:

LGBTQ2+: Justice Québec, Interligne, Coalition montréalaise des groupes jeunesse LGBT, Coalition familles LGBT, Gris Montréal, À deux mains and Projet 10.

Indigenous Mentoring: Native Montreal

Black’n Role : Public Health Agency of Canada, Blacbilio, Jamaica Association of Montreal Inc, Black Students Network of McGill.

Created By

BBBSGM Montreal

Appreciate

Credits:

GFGS Montréal