Backing boys when they need it most

For a second year running, HealthCarePlus’s Grants for Good funding is helping Big Buddy Mentoring Trust give teenage boys the connection and confidence they need to thrive.

Since 1997 Big Buddy Mentoring Trust has been connecting boys who don’t have a dad or positive male role model in their lives with someone who can be exactly that. Through one-to-one mentoring for Little Buddies aged 7 to 13, and Group Programmes for teenage boys aged 14 to 17, the Trust helps young men build the confidence, resilience and relationships that can shape the rest of their lives.

The Group Programme exists because of a gap that the trust kept running into. Many boys on the one-to-one mentoring waitlist were growing older, and eventually reaching an age where they were too old to be matched with a Big Buddy volunteer, but still very much in need of support. The Group Programme was built for exactly this stage: a space where teenage boys develop emotional skills and healthy relationships alongside positive male role models, and just as importantly, alongside each other.

“It provides a place where boys realise they are not alone,” says Co-CEO Partnerships & Development, Christie Stuart. “They form genuine friendships and continue receiving the encouragement they need during an important stage of their development.”

Big Buddy’s relationship with HealthCarePlus began through the trust’s inaugural Wellington programme in 2025, and this year’s Grants for Good funding marks the second year of support. This milestone has meant a great deal to the organisation, says Christie.

“It’s given us the opportunity not only to continue delivering the programme but to refine and evolve what we offer to make it even better,” she says.

That “better” has looked like real, practical change. The funding has allowed the trust to evaluate the programme alongside participants, volunteers and facilitators, using that feedback to sharpen the content and experience. It has also removed everyday barriers to taking part, including transport and extended support beyond the original eight-week programme so young men stay connected once it ends.

Christie says the ripple effects go well beyond the boys themselves.

“When young people build confidence, improve their communication and develop healthy ways of managing emotions, those benefits ripple through to their families, schools and communities. By investing in boys today, we’re helping shape caring, connected and resilient men who will positively influence and support those around them for years to come.”

Her advice to others weighing up a grant application is to forge ahead, even if you don’t have a finished picture. “Be honest about the need you’re addressing and the impact you hope to make. You don’t need to have every answer from day one.” It’s a philosophy that mirrors Big Buddy’s own goal for the boys it supports, that “no boy feels alone”.

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