DARKE COUNTY — The Dayton Power & Light Foundation recently made a donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Shelby and Darke County along with the Lydia E. Shaurer Memorial Trust administered through the Darke County Foundation.

Both of these donations will assist the agency in continuing to serve “at risk” children in the two-county service area.

“The support we receive from these two funders will go towards the over 500 youth we provided services to through our programming. It enables us to continue to reach out and identify children in need of a mentor in our community. The Dayton Power & Light Foundation will be used for our After-School ‘Big Buddies’ programs and the Lydia E. Shaurer Memorial Trust will be used to towards matching children in the Darke County with a mentor who currently have an incarcerated parent.” reported Jennifer Bruns Big Brothers Big Sisters executive director

Mentoring programs provide support, activities, education, and most importantly, a mentor for children who may be considered at-risk of an abusive environment. The children involved in this program have the opportunity to engage in fun, social and academic enrichment activities with the interaction of their mentor. It is our goal to teach these children, through their relationship with their mentor, skills in managing life in a high-risk environment.

Thanks to generous donations like that from The Dayton Power & Light Foundation and Lydia E. Schaurer Memorial Trust, the Big Brothers Big Sisters programs continue to grow and help keep affecting children in a positive way.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Shelby & Darke County is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop and mature quality relationships between children and volunteers. The relationship is meant to guide each child towards becoming a confident, competent, and caring individual. If anyone is interested in becoming a volunteer, call the office at 547-9622 or 492-7611 or access more information at www.bigbrobigsis-shelby-darke.org.