Purple basketball nets are popping up across the city.
It’s part of the Purple Net Project, an initiative by Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver that aims to show the need for volunteers. The organization, which pairs young boys with an older male role model, is looking for 23 Big Brothers and 50 in-school mentors from Burnaby.
“We seem to get more volunteers in the Vancouver area, but the need is huge outside of Vancouver,” executive director Valerie Lambert told the NOW, adding there’s a two-year wait list of children in Surrey, the Tri-Cities and Richmond.
The Purple Net Project, coordinated with spring break and March Madness, will see 100 purple nets hung across the Lower Mainland in basketball courts where the hoop has no mesh, one net for each child waiting for a Big Brother. In Burnaby, there will be 10 to 15 nets hung.
Another goal of the campaign is to show that becoming a Big Brother is not a daunting task that requires extravagant excursions and lots of money.
“It can be as simple as kicking a soccer ball, going for a walk,” Lambert said. “It’s about the presence and being there together. I think the purple net is a great way of getting that message across – that everybody has the capacity to make a life-changing impact on the Little Brother.”
Many men don’t think they can take on the role of a Big Brother, noted Lambert.
“They think, ‘Oh, I’m not going to be good enough; I’m not going to get through the process I’m not going to be chosen,’” she said. “There are lots of people out there who can be Big Brothers and really have something incredibly valuable to give to their communities.”
To sign up, visit www.purplenetproject.ca. The time commitment is two to four hours a week. The in-school mentorship program is a one hour per week commitment. Volunteers are matched up with a boy or girl who attends a nearby elementary school.
Meanwhile, anyone who spots a netless hoop around Burnaby can tag Big Brothers on social media with the hashtag #purplenetproject and staff will re-net it.
