In 2009, several Big Brother Big Sister organizations began discussing the landscape of Mentoring in Ontario and the need for a more coordinated approach in the province. While Big Brothers Big Sisters has been making a positive difference in the lives of children across the province by developing and implementing a wide range of mentoring programs, they saw the importance of increasing the discussion among other organizations. The precursor of the Ontario Mentoring Coalition (OMC) was about to take shape.
Invitations were opened to other youth serving organizations, government, corporations and the public sector who have a stake in this area or provide direct service to children and youth and mentoring services. In 2012- 2013 a series of meetings took place with a large group of these stakeholders to explore the development of a mentoring coalition for Ontario.
Through the engagement of these partners the initial concept of the OMC was begun and some strategic visioning took place. The following objectives were developed:
1. Continue to increase capacity and sustainability of mentoring through promoting and supporting collaboration among community organizations, schools, government;
2. Increase engagement of community partners in advancing the mission of the OMC; and,
3. Increase the awareness of the importance of mentoring.
In February 2014 the Ontario Mentoring Coalition was launched with a broad invitation to mentoring organizations in Ontario and a general members meeting was held with approximately 40 participants.
