Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada

On September 30, 2016 WestJet and Big Brother Big Sisters of Canada partnered to bring together more than 100 youth and 100 WestJetters across Canada for WestJet’s #MentoringMatters Day. In 28 airports and at the head office in Calgary, youth were matched with WestJetters to learn the ins and outs of the aviation industry and to showcase why mentoring is so important. From flight crew to aircraft mechanic, baggage handler to customer care agent, and accountant to marketer, BBBS youth went behind the scenes and job shadowed WestJetters. Broadening their horizons, youth explored a variety of careers in aviation that they may not have previously considered. They also got an exclusive look into what it takes to run an airline. Check out the WestJet Blog to read more on this initiative!

Since 2014, WestJet has provided flights to Bigs, Littles, Alumni, Staff, and Volunteers, to build homes in the Dominican Republic in conjunction with Live Different, in the very same community where WestJetters have been building homes for years!

Since 2013, WestJet has provided support to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada’s YOUth in Office event in Ottawa. This event, in partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, flies 100 kids to Ottawa to engage in discussions with Members of Parliament, Senators, and other leaders of the country to discuss issues of importance from the home constituencies of the youth.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada celebrated their 100th Anniversary in 2013. To help them mark the event, WestJet flew 100 Bigs and Littles to the National Youth Summit in Ottawa. Starting off as a boring lecture on the principles of aviation, it was soon revealed that the real reason they were there was to take part in a private concert from Kardinal Offishall and Karl Wolf.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been changing the lives of Canada’s youth by developing and implementing a wide range of mentoring programs. Every year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada provides quality mentoring services for more than 40,000 youth, engaging over 23,000 mentors in 111 agencies that serve youth in over 1,100 communities across the country. Research demonstrates that Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring programs yield positive results in mental health, employment and civic engagement, with every dollar of investment in BBBS programming returning between $18 and $23 to society through higher taxes, increased spending from higher incomes, volunteerism, and charitable donations. For more information, visit www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca.