Be A Big For A Day: FAQ
The children range in age from 6 to 18 years old.
The children and volunteers are generally responsible for getting to the event location. Typically, parents or guardians drop their children off at the event location to meet the volunteers. The organization providing the volunteers may elect to include parents in the “Big For A Day” event (at the organization’s cost), but the activities listed in the menu of events do not require parents to attend.
There is no minimum age requirement for volunteers, but BBBS requires two (2) adults for every one (1) child who attends a “Big For A Day” event.
Because the success of your “Big For A Day” event depends on interactive mentoring, volunteers should choose an event that is aligned with abilities as well as their budget and interests.
The ideal group size for a “Big For A Day” activity is between 15 and 25 children, which requires 30 to 50 adults; however, activities can be customized to accommodate any size group of volunteers.
Because of the school and work obligations of the children and their parents, the best time to host an activity is over the weekend.
The business or individuals volunteering are not required to provide any insurance relating to “Big For A Day”. BBBS maintains the requisite insurance policies. To the extent the nature of a “Big For A Day” event requires additional insurance to be obtained, the volunteer group and BBBS will address the cost and necessity of such insurance on a case by case basis.
BBBS does not require volunteers to submit to a formal background check, but volunteers will be required to provide their full name and home zip code so that BBBS may, if it so elects, conduct a search of the sexual predator and federal offender databases. BBBS also requires that all volunteers sign a general release. Among the terms of such general release, volunteers authorize BBBS to use photographs taken in connection with “Big For A Day” activities.
BBBS designed the menu of events available for “Big For A Day” to provide options to accommodate a range of budgets and groups of any size. BBBS has identified events to assist with streamlining the volunteer process. The suggested events can be customized to accommodate the size and financial abilities of your organization.
The volunteering organization covers the cost of the event, including the entrance fees of the volunteers, the children, and if included, the parents or guardians of the children. BBBS can assist the organization with securing in-kind donations from the attractions, venues and organizations listed in the menu of events. Successful activities range from venue-oriented activities to low cost interactive alternatives planned at the BBBS mentoring facilities. BBBS can accommodate on-site activities at its West Palm Beach and Stuart offices.
Contact BBBS (see information below) at least 30 days prior to the date on which you would like to host a “Big For A Day” event to obtain more information, the required forms and initiate planning. Once the details are finalized and the children invited to your event, BBBS requests that volunteers fulfill their commitment to their activity. If an organization needs to cancel its “Big For A Day” event, BBBS requests at least 7 days’ notice of cancellation. Thank you for your support of BBBS. We look forward to speaking with you.
Courtney Buckel, 772-283-6862 or Tiffany Cristoforo, 772-678-7487