Open a Door, Change a Life: The 50 Doors Campaign Is Here
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Vancouver Island needs your help to match 50 kids with mentors — and it starts with opening a door.
Right now, children across Central Vancouver Island are waiting. Waiting for someone to show up, to listen, to believe in them. Some have been on the waitlist for months. Others, for years. These are kids in our own community — in Nanaimo, Ladysmith, and beyond — who just need one caring adult to help them see what’s possible.
That’s where the 50 Doors Campaign comes in.
What Is the 50 Doors Campaign?
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Vancouver Island (BBBSCVI) is calling on local businesses, organizations, and community members to help “open 50 doors” — each one representing a child matched with a mentor. Every sponsorship covers the real cost of making a mentoring relationship happen: volunteer recruitment, safety screening, training, matching, and the ongoing caseworker support that keeps each match safe, consistent, and meaningful.
These relationships don’t happen by accident. They’re built with care, intention, and resources. And they work. Research consistently shows that young people with mentors are more likely to stay engaged in school, build confidence, avoid risky behaviours, and develop a stronger sense of belonging.
Why It Matters Now
BBBSCVI has been building mentoring relationships on Central Vancouver Island for over 55 years — since a group of 25 community members gathered at the Tally Ho Lodge in Nanaimo back in 1969. But the need today is as urgent as ever. Families, schools, and young people are reaching out for support in greater numbers, and the organization simply can’t meet the demand without the financial backing of the community.
Every child on the waitlist represents untapped potential. A future artist, athlete, entrepreneur, or community leader who just needs someone in their corner.
How You Can Help
Sponsor a door. Your contribution covers the annual cost of initiating and supporting one Big and Little match. That’s one child off the waitlist. One relationship that could change the entire trajectory of a young person’s life.
Spread the word. Share this campaign with your network, your workplace, your neighbours. The more doors we open together, the more kids we reach.
Learn more and donate at cvi.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/50-doors-campaign or contact BBBSCVI directly at (250) 756-2447 or admin@bigscvi.ca.
50 Doors. 50 Kids. One Community.
It takes as little as one sponsorship to spark potential in a young person. When local businesses and community members come together, we don’t just fund a program — we build a future.
Be one of the 50. Open a door. Change a life.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Vancouver Island is located at 2030 Northfield Road, Nanaimo, BC. The organization gratefully acknowledges that it operates on the unceded and ancestral territory of the Snuneymuxw, Stz’uminus, and Snaw’naw’as First Nations.