Volunteers are needed to serve as "bigs" to the nearly 60 children on a waiting list for big brothers or sisters.
"It's a large enough number that we're concerned," said Lee Knernschield, director of Missouri Valley Big Brothers Big Sisters, BBBS.
The nonprofit organization matches adult mentors with children ages 6-17. The mentors provide the children, known as "littles," with additional support, guidance and encouragement.
Knernchield said a big can volunteer to be involved with the school-based program or the community-based one. The school-based requires a commitment of one hour a week. The community-based requires a two-hour commitment.
"This program allows someone to provide a child with guidance and to offer a viewpoint on a child's potential in life," Knernschield said.