Officials with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Red Deer and District unveil the organization's new brand and logo from the steps of Red Deer City Hall Wednesday morning.

By Sheldon Spackman

re-branded

Big Brothers Big Sisters unveils new brand, stresses need for volunteers

Sep 18, 2019 | 1:39 PM

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Red Deer and District was part of a nation-wide launch on Wednesday of a new brand for the organization.

From the steps of Red Deer City Hall, a new logo was unveiled, with deputy mayor Vesna Higham proclaiming Sept. 18, 2019 as National Big Brothers Big Sisters Day in Red Deer, and September 2019 proclaimed as National Big Brothers Big Sisters Month.

Youth HQ board Chair Randy Nichols (Left) receives an official proclamation from deputy mayor Vesna Higham on Wednesday, proclaiming Sept. 18, 2019 as National Big Brothers Big Sisters Day in Red Deer and September, 2019 as National Big Brothers Big Sisters Month.

According to officials with the national body of Big Brothers Big Sisters, hundreds of thousands of Canadian children and youth are still in urgent need of someone who will stand in their corner and ignite their potential.

As a result, the 106-year-old organization is being reinvented and reintroduced to the world. The new look and call to action is described as encouraging Canadians to be a part of something bigger – a movement to prove how critical relationships are to people’s success, mental health and wellbeing.

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The logo’s three lines are said to showcase the three players who help a young person forge a new path forward: the family, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the volunteer mentor (the “Big”).

Officials say the new look and brand reflect months of research and consultation with over 3,500 volunteer mentors, young people (“Littles”), parents and guardians, mentoring leaders, and members of the general public from coast to coast.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada worked with Bain & Co. and Barkley on the research and brand transformation.

“Mentoring is an essential service, impacting childhood brain development and creating positive cognitive, education, employment, and health outcomes,” says W. Matthew Chater, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, in a press release. “Our modernization is meant to engage a new wave of volunteers and donors and give them an opportunity to make a true difference in this world, to change two lives: their own and the life of a young person.”

In Red Deer, Youth HQ board chair Randy Nichols says the organization has been in central Alberta for 43 years and offers several volunteer opportunities for people to become involved.

Although the organization works with over 200 young people, Nichols notes a wait list of 75 children currently in need of a Big Brother or Big Sister.

Big Brother Brandon Leyh says he became involved three years ago as a way to give back to the community, and can’t imagine now the program not being part of his life.

“It’s a passion of mine,” he explains. “I see the influence that we have and the effect and it’s pretty satisfying and something that I enjoy. It’s an opportunity to be a kid as an adult and it’s beneficial for both parties I think. It’s a lot more beneficial than I anticipated going into it, it’s a lot of fun.”

Little Brother Storm Smith, 14, says having a Big Brother is very important to him.

“To get that person to hang-out with, to have that one on one, interact with a new person and just have that person right next to you all the time,” he explains. “We always bond, hang-out once a week, once every two weeks, it’s great for me. We’ve been playing football and then going to the movies a lot, we went to Edmonton to the arcade place there and it was really fun, it’s just a great program.”