Who can be a Little Sister?

Little Sisters are nominated by their teacher and counselors. Little Sisters are middle schools girls of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds who have been recognized for their abilities as emerging leaders.

How can I become a Little Sister?

If you are interested in becoming a Little Sister in the Young Women Leaders Program and you are a 7th grader at one of our participating middle schools, you may contact your guidance counselor in January for the Spring semester mentoring session or in September for the Fall semester mentoring session to ask to participate.

You may also contact the current Program Coordinator at (407) 823-6502 for more information.

What is my job as a Little Sister?

• Ask questions.You can never ask too many and if your mentor does not know the answers, she will know where to find them. Don’t hesitate to speak up if English is your second language. This is a safe, non-judgmental learning environment where all points of view are valued.
• Be open-minded.Take advantage of the opportunity to be exposed to new things even if they are not your “thing” or what you are used to. Remember to share your interests with your entire group; everyone wants to learn about you!
• Help your Big Sister feel comfortable around you.Talk and include her in your life. Introduce her to your parents/guardians, family, and friends.
• Communicate regularly with your Big Sister.Call, text, and/or e-mail her! Your Big Sister needs to hear from you and will love it when she does.
• Attend all scheduled meetings with your Big Sister.Regularly scheduled group meetings are scheduled at the same time on certain Wednesdays after school. Make sure that you make plans to attend every scheduled meeting for the entire semester. If for some reason you are unable to attend, have your parent(s)/guardian(s) inform your YWLP Big Sister and/or Facilitators or do so yourself.
• Thank your Big Sister.Thank her for everything and let her know how much you appreciate her time, help, and interest in you.

What is the time commitment?

Little Sister participation in YWLP is a semester-long commitment. There are multiple 90-minute mentoring sessions per month on pre-scheduled Wednesdays from 3:15pm-4:45pm. A schedule with the dates of the mentoring sessions will be provided at the beginning of the YWLP semester in the packets provided by your middle school’s personnel. You and your family are responsible for arranging your ride home from the Wednesday afternoon meetings. All mentoring sessions will be hosted at your middle school’s campus.

There are optional weekend events throughout the semester hosted by the Young Women Leaders Program. These events are free and are offered in order to provide extra time outside of the meetings for Big and Little Sisters to spend time together. The exact dates, times, and locations of all of these events will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

As a young leader, you will develop your leadership skills to combat some difficult issues that you face everyday.