At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie, Niagara and the Southern Tier, the safety of the children we serve and their families, as well as our volunteers (Bigs) and staff, is always our main priority.
We are closely monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and are taking steps to minimize the impact of an outbreak. We have decided to make the following precautionary changes to our program’s operations for at least the next three weeks, from now through Monday, April 20:
- Our staff will work remotely from their homes and will be available by email and phone.
- We are restricting all in-person contact between our Bigs and Littles during this time. However, our staff will be working with our Bigs to help them continue to communicate with their Littles via phone to ensure their mentoring relationship remains strong.
- We have cancelled any travel and scheduled agency events.
We remain as committed as ever to the safety and quality of our mentoring services. During this time of uncertainty and fear, we know that our Bigs will play a very crucial role in the lives of the children we serve, and our staff will be here for our Bigs, Littles, and families whenever needed.
We also encourage everyone to review the recommendations from the Erie County Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control for reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection for yourselves and others.
We will provide you with additional updates about our program’s operations as needed.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your agency contact by phone or email, or write to us at info@beafriend.org.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.