Big Buddy Tauranga is about to launch its new group programme for teenage boys aged 14 to 17.

Starting in term three this year, the group programme will bring rangatahi together for eight weeks of weekend sessions.

Big Buddy helps boys build confidence and experience opportunities they might not have otherwise.

Co-chief executive Steve Sobota said the programme aimed to build an environment of trust and safety so the teens can talk to each other about the challenges they face.

In the programme, they would have the chance to go and do outdoor activities such as white water rafting, kayaking, mountain biking, and hiking and on alternate weeks, they will do more group work, which may include talking about emotional regulation.

“They’re surrounded by good men,” said Sobota, adding that volunteer mentors also share stories of their own lives to support the boys to talk more about themselves.

Bay of Plenty mentoring manager Brad Fleming. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

Bay of Plenty mentoring manager Brad Fleming was facilitating the new programme as well as recruiting boys and the mentors.

“We’re looking at how they can make relationships with peers as well as older men.”

Fleming said the teens would mentor each other alongside the older mentors.

This new programme comes after the success of their current one-on-one mentoring programme, and they want to cater for older boys who may respond better by being in a group and learning from their peers.

The Big Buddy charitable organisation launched in Auckland in 1997 before growing throughout the country. The Bay of Plenty branch started in 2020.

The initial programme matched boys aged 7-14 (Little Buddies) without a consistent male presence in their lives, with good guys from the community (Big Buddies).

The charity announced the new programme at the organisation’s first inaugural lunch last week, which raised more than $28,000 to help Big Buddy deepen its impact in the Western Bay of Plenty region.

At the lunch, Sobota spoke about the demand the charity is under, saying more volunteers are needed and 30 boys are on the waiting list for Big Buddies in this region alone. The group programme aims to relieve some of this demand.

Fleming said the charity lunch was “a powerful way to celebrate the everyday impact of mentoring and encourage ongoing support for our local boys”.