Big Buddies mentor Emalyn Hiney and her mentee at the program's February 2011 ice skating pair event.

Big Buddies

Sponsored by: University of Vermont – Volunteers in Action
Advisor: Lluvia Mulvaney-Stanack
Contact: Emalyn Hiney or Ellen Sears
311N 590 Davis Center
Burlington, VT 05405
802-656-0789

UVM’s Big Buddies Program provides community children with positive, enthusiastic student mentors who can be a consistent influence in their lives, through play and shared activities. Big Buddies matches UVM students with underprivileged children from the Burlington community. The coordinators for Big Buddies work closely with the guidance counselors in the elementary schools to match students with those children that would benefit most from having a mentor. The commitment required from UVM students is a full academic year with their little buddy, consisting of one-on-one time and special semester activities with all of the volunteers.

First Year of operation: 1979
Minimum age for mentor: Freshman in College
Minimum time commitment: 3 hours/week
Minimum length of commitment: Remainder of time at college, unless substituting