"Leaders in the community have to give back."
So says Jeff Dawson, a city councillor and the general manager of Community Futures Development Corporation of Howe Sound.
He found a way that worked for him, and he passed it on to the rest of his staff.
Dawson is a Big Brother - he mentors a Stawamus Elementary school student named Jack Hunt. He decided to participate after Helen Brownrigg, the manager from Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Squamish, gave a presentation to council.
"Frankly, she made a lot of sense," he said.
"I don't know if there is a better feeling than walking into a room and seeing somebody light up."
He decided to participate as an in-school mentor, giving up an hour a week to hang out with Jack. And then he took it one step further. He enjoyed his time spent with Jack so much he thought his employees should have the same opportunity.
"It's the first business to allow their staff to go on staff time," said Helen Brownrigg.
Employees at Community Futures take an hour a week of paid company time to visit and play with a child at school. And Dawson said it has the opposite effect than most employers would expect.
"They come back reinvigorated," he said. "They've reached a higher level."
"It's the highlight of my day," said Megan Olesky, who works at Community Futures. "I think it's taught me to have fun again. I didn't expect to have so much fun playing for an hour."
It's a sentiment her coworker Cathie Stalkie echoes.
"I think it makes the little person feel good, and it makes me feel good," she said. "It's a great way to give a little person one on one attention."
That one-on-one attention is a rarity. Studies show an average parent spends 70 minutes a day with their children and even then they are dealing with distractions, Brownrigg said.
To find out more about mentoring with Big Brothers, contact Helen Brownrigg at 604-892-3125.
