For almost 100 years, the Big Brothers Big Sisters program has been matching children with mentors all over the United States.

The organization, started in 1904, was first known as Big Brothers. Now there are 490 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. The Joplin organization is the newest agency and the last agency to receive full affiliation.

“The need for mentoring has been around for generations,” said Jelaine Workman, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters for Jasper and Newton counties. “Children need someone that’s really going to take them and be a role model for them. This is what the program is really about.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a program geared toward children between the ages of 6 and 14 that are being raised by a single parent or by grandparents.

Having a big brother or big sister allows the child to have someone they feel comfortable with and can share things they might not want to share with someone in their household.

No fee is required for the youth or the volunteers to join the program. After going through an extensive process, volunteers are asked to make a one-year commitment to the child they are matched with.

Before the volunteer is matched to a child, the volunteer must go through a process which involves filling out an application, orientation, background check, a 90 minute to two-and-a-half hour interview, a home assessment test and a three-hour training session.

“My first goal is to be sure that the volunteer is a safe person for me to put a child with,” Workman said. “We really want to be sure we’re putting that child in a safe environment.”

When being matched up, female children are matched with female volunteers, and male children are matched with either male volunteers or a couple.

If and when a match is made, the children have the opportunity to stay paired with their big brother or sister until they graduate from high school or turn 18.

Big Brothers Big Sisters has three programs: a community based program where the volunteers are asked to spend two to four hours a week with their child; UP2US, which is a collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Missouri and requires volunteers spend one hour each week with their children; and a school based program where the volunteers meet with their children after school on their campus for an hour each week.

“The biggest problem is getting volunteers to sign up and give us their time,” Workman said.

Right now there are 80 matches with another 20 boys on the waiting list. Amy Kihenia, a senior with a double major in German and international business, has been a big sister since 2001. She’s been with the same child since she became involved. As the secretary of the Students in Free Enterprise chapter at Missouri Southern, Kihenia has recruited other SIFE members to be involved in the program as well.

“It’s a great program,” Kihenia said. “It brings you to a very humbling level.”

She said it’s been great being able to see how her child has grown and matured. Also, one of the best aspects is making her child feel like she can do anything.