Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga on Friday officially opened its new Warner Mentoring Hub, an expansion of the organization's Bailey Avenue facility that will allow the agency's mentoring program to expand.
"It's not merely a building," CEO Jessica Whatley said at the ribbon-cutting for the facility, which Porter Warner originally led the efforts to fund more than a half-century ago. "It's truly the cornerstone of our efforts to provide more youth with a mentor to ignite their potential."
The organization has been in the same building for 54 years, but it was mainly an office building without much functional space, Whatley said by phone.
With the mentoring hub's additional 950 square feet, the agency now has a much-needed lobby area where people can come for interviews or to get information about enrolling their children in the program, she said.
The extra space also allowed for the addition of a conference and training room, giving the organization the ability to expand opportunities for training mentors, mentees and parents, Whatley said. Before, most of the organization's training was conducted virtually.
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Starting next month, the agency will hold recruitment events, orientations and information sessions at the new facility, she said.
The Warner Mentoring Hub also features a learning lab with a small meeting space and laptops available for use by "littles," which is what the agency calls its youth program participants, to do homework or fill out job applications with help from staff.
Eventually, the facility will have a playground that will serve as a neutral place where bigs and littles can meet for the first time or hang out whenever they want, Whatley said.
"We call it a hub for a reason," she said, adding that program participants spend the majority of their time outside the facility and in the community at places such as schools, parks and Lookouts games. "It's where the work begins, and it's where a lot of the behind-the-scenes support is, but then our programs are happening all over the community."
Terrance Terry, 16, was sitting with several other "littles" in the learning lab Friday. He has been participating in the program since he was 10.
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"It just sounded fun, so I just decided to go with it, and I'm glad I did," said Terrance, who's had two mentors during his time in the program. "It's just building relationships, fun, meeting people. They're nice, and they care about me and my future."
He said he would stay in the program forever if he could, and eventually, he'd like to become a mentor.
"I want to do what my big has done for me for other kids," Terrance said.
With the opening of the mentoring hub, the organization hopes to expand the number of children it serves to 400 in 2023 and continue to increase participation to 600 children by 2025, according to a news release.
In addition to providing space for recruitment events, the new facility also increases the agency's brand awareness through visibility, Whatley said.
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"We're much more noticeable now," she said. "Being able to be more visible to the community and just garner attention through this project and through our programs, we're just really trying to expand so that we can reach more kids."
But the best recruitment tool the program has is its volunteers and participants, Whatley said.
The organization matches individuals ages 6-18 with adult mentors, with varying requirements for mentors depending on the specific program.
Benefits for littles include better grades in school, higher educational expectations of themselves, and improved social and emotional learning skills, she said.
Bigs often find the mentoring experience therapeutic and gain a new perspective on life, Whatley said.
"All of our mentors will tell you that they feel they get more out of it than the little does," she said.
Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508.