North Texas Seeks 400 Mentors

Several conferences of the United Methodist Church will begin recruiting men and women to serve as mentors of children of incarcerated parents.

That is one result of a decision by the General Commission on United Methodist Men to accept Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) as an affiliate organization.

Meeting Sept. 16-18 in Nashville, the 23-member commission was told that over 2.5 million children nationwide face a 70 percent probability of following their parent(s) to prison at some point. That percentage can be lowered if people of faith mentor the children.

A recent BBBS study found that a child with a caring adult is 52 percent less likely to skip a day of school and 46 percent less likely to start using illegal drugs.

Become a Big Brother or Big Sister. Call 817-277-1148, ext. 382, or e-mail: tbristow@bbbsnt.org.