Over the past several months, students from Macdonald Consolidated School and Hampton High School have been part of the very first pilot of The Freckle Post—Big Brothers Big Sisters Saint John’s locally developed, literacy-focused e-mentoring platform.
Through weekly letter exchanges, elementary students (“Little Buddies”) were matched one-to-one with high school students (“Big Buddies”), building meaningful mentoring relationships through the power of words, encouragement, curiosity, and connection.
For younger students, it meant having a supportive role model cheering them on, helping them strengthen literacy skills, and reminding them that someone was excited to hear from them each week. For teen mentors, it was an opportunity to develop leadership, communication, empathy, and confidence while discovering the incredible impact they can have in the life of a younger person.
And then came everyone’s favourite day…The Big Reveal!
Because The Freckle Post uses first names only and includes built-in safety features, mentors and mentees spent the year getting to know each other through letters before ever meeting in person. At the final celebration, students eagerly tried to guess who their mentor or mentee might be, scanning the crowd for clues and attempting to pick each other out before the official introductions.
The laughter, excitement, and genuine connections made for a memorable finale and a powerful reminder that meaningful relationships can begin with something as simple as a letter.
A heartfelt thank you to:
The Windsor Foundation
Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception
Anglophone South School District
for believing in this innovative approach to mentoring and helping make this pilot possible.
BIG Thank to Tristan La Rusic for working with the very passionate Meaghan Hickey- Hare to develop this platform!
As we look ahead to full implementation this fall, we’re excited about the opportunity to connect even more young people with caring mentors, especially those who may not otherwise have access to traditional mentoring programs.
One letter. One connection. One relationship at a time.
