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An Everlasting Legacy

Big Brothers Big Sisters Regina & Area has been serving Regina, Moose Jaw, and Weyburn in the spirit of the organization, for 50 years.

For half a century, our organization has been connecting youth with much needed, trusted support and guidance. While these moments and connections between Bigs and Littles are individual, the impacts run deep through our communities. Thriving communities are made up of comfortable, confident and caring people, and these building blocks begin to be set early in our lives.

In fact, a recent survey of Littles who had one to one mentorship, conducted by the Boston Consulting Group determined that every $1 donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters has a direct result of $23 to society—through financial literacy, stronger relationships, better employment outcomes and higher lifetime earnings.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Regina & Area has helped build countless life-changing, life-long relationships. Part of our work is going out into the community and making it easier for families to access our services. Right now, there are children who need a positive role model in their lives who is not a parent or teacher. In order to make this happen our organization relies on grants and cash donations. We are fortunate to receive grant funding each year, but that funding isn’t a guarantee, and like all charities in Canada, the support of our donors massively contributes to being able to reach out to, connect with, provide for, and support our clients.

Your gift—whether it is your time, or a cash donation, helps. Now, in our 50^th year, we’ve launched a campaign to build on half a century of commitment to the community, through partnership of people who want to be a part of history in the making through matching Bigs and Littles.

 “The Future 50 campaign is about legacy,” said Executive Director, Dominika Krzeminska. “It’s an opportunity to join something that not only has a rich history, but will mean a really bright future for a whole lot of young people.”

“We often see people who don’t fully understand the power of their gifts. A monthly donation, even a small one, means consistent and reliable funding to match and support kids on our waitlists. Even $25 per month can legitimately change lives—the Little and the Big!” That has been a long-recognized spin-off benefit of the program. Whereas the need comes from the side of the Little, the benefit is for both. Mentors have consistently shared how their experience has been a powerful, transformative time of personal growth and learning.

Our recurrent or monthly donors tend to be people who wish to volunteer but who don’t currently have the time. Life is busy. Cash donations ensure Littles are still getting the experience of mentorship. Recurrent donors are those who know that individual actions can make a community-wide impact. They know that a small gift—even just the cost of eating lunch out twice a week, can change someone’s life, starting in their most formative years.

Saskatchewan has a documented history of giving. Our province is filled with the most volunteers in all of Canada—higher than the national average, even. And, we are third in the country for donors and amount donated. It’s a wonderful reality that we see help create better futures for Littles that we hope to capture with this campaign.

“We know you’re out there! We know you—the person who wants to contribute; maybe you have a personal connection or have had a mentor in your professional or personal life. Or, maybe you’ve just never considered how you can help. This is your sign!” The Future 50 Campaign was developed to recognize a legacy, and the people who are going to help us build the next 50 years.

No one can predict the future, but Big Brothers Big Sisters Regina & Area has a vision—one we will continue to work toward building. We envision the ability to serve significantly more Littles—with no wait list, and more programs to support the individual needs of these little people. We envision a clear path, from mentee to mentor, meaning more Littles growing into Bigs who support the next generation of little people in need of guidance. No one reaches their goals alone, and we want to give that chance to any and every child who needs it. There is no better legacy than giving a child the confidence and support they need to become their best selves.

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On behalf of the Board of Directors, Beth Wozniak; Chair of the Board for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Regina & Area Inc. (BBBS), is pleased to welcome Dominika Krzeminska as the incoming Executive Director, effective November 16, 2020.

Dominika joins us from the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA), where she most recently served as the Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives in Ottawa, Ontario; among her responsibilities, she developed and led the national Housing Professionals Mentorship Program. She brings with her experience in developing and leading programs and initiatives for over 300 nation-wide members. Prior to that, she worked in the management team of the Government of Saskatchewan’s Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission.

Dominika has extensive experience in leading the development of programming, collaborating with colleagues to manage logistics, managing communications and marketing material, along with building and maintaining stakeholder and community partner relations. She also brings with her experience in managing policies, developing and leading employee engagement initiatives, and advising on programming and administrative issues.

Dominika joins BBBS with volunteer experience supporting not-for-profit organizations locally at Ranch Ehrlo Society and at Youth Assisting Youth in Toronto, ON. While completing her graduate degree in public health, Dominika led the development of a situational analysis report on Indigenous Homelessness in Rural Vancouver coastal regions, supporting the work of the Aboriginal Health Strategies Initiatives and Population Health teams of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

As the Board of Directors, we are looking forward to welcoming Dominika to the organization and we are excited to work together to continue to ignite the potential of the youth in our communities. Please join me in welcoming Dominika to the organization.

Sincerely,

Beth Wozniak, Board of Directors Chair

July 28, 2020

Good morning,

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Regina and Area (“BBBS”), I am writing to inform you that Victor Roman, the Executive Director of our organization, has tendered his resignation effective August 15, 2020. He will transition into his new role and will remain on a part-time basis until August 31, 2020.

Victor first became involved in our organization as a Big Brother in the in-school mentoring program. Through this role, he gained an appreciation and understanding of BBBS which allowed him to step into the Executive Director position with ease. Since starting in January 2019, Victor lead BBBS with poise and perseverance as our organization went through some pivotal changes. During his short amount of time at our organization, Victor demonstrated his commitment to community-based mentorship programs for youth in Regina, Weyburn, and Moose Jaw.

Through Victor’s leadership, we have fostered a positive working relationship with the YWCA that will allow us to provide more opportunities to the youth of Regina. He led the BBBS through the roll-out of our re-brand as provided by National and integrated our refreshed focus into our 5-year Strategic Plan. Victor has also worked tirelessly over the last four months to secure funding and adapt our programming to align with the unforeseen restrictions put in place by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to his ongoing dedication to seek funding and grant opportunities, our Board is confident that we are in a positive position to continue to serve to youth through our programming. With Victors efforts, we have strengthened and enhanced many of our internal processes and external relationships to ensure that our organization is providing the best services possible and that we are in a position of stability during these unknown times.

As our Board of Directors prepare to search for a new Executive Director, we are excited to have conversations with the staff along with stakeholders and our community partners to discuss the future leadership and direction of our organization. We welcome your input in this process and look forward to the discussions to come.

Please join me in congratulating Victor in his commitment to our organization and to thank him for his dedication to enabling mentoring relationships in our communities.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me directly.

Best regards,

Beth Wozniak
Chair, Board of Directors
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Regina and Area Inc.
beth.wozniak@mnp.ca