Big Brothers/Big Sisters

I did it in College.  Bulldog/Bullpup program.  We got paired-up with kids who didn't have fathers at home.  Took him to football games, a haunted hayride, boat ride to Ft Sumter.  They just need to spend time around positive people.  If you can be positive every minute you're around them, they'll build their self-confidence and it'll leave a long lasting impact on them. 

My two bullpups graduated from the Citadel last year.  Guess they turned-out just fine. 

My wife worked for BBBS for years and has been paired with her little sis for over a decade, here’s her advice.  Most of all, be consistent and reliable.  That not only gives the child a stable relationship they can count on, but it also helps you keep things scheduled with the parent(s). 

Early on, try to stick to one on one activities with a lot of interaction so that you can build rapport and trust.  Unless you and your husband are doing this together, he should pretty much stay out of it at the beginning.  That’s not to say hide your husband away, they should definitely meet each other.  Just make sure that initially everything you’re doing is keeping the focus on you and her building a bond.  Later on, you can get her more involved with your family. 

Like Matt said, more than anything you’re just giving a child time with a positive role model.  It doesn't really matter what you do, as long as you’re interacting and giving her attention.  Find out what she likes and do it, find out what she’s never done and do that too, and then introduce her to what you like.  And keep a good relationship with your match supporter.  They’ll be able to give you ideas of what to do (and they get a ton of free tickets to random events).  But they also know how to handle the parents who won't work with you, they can advise you on how to deal with problems in the family or school, etc.