Big Brothers Big Sisters is the national office for a network of more than 365 local agencies that match adult volunteers with children facing adversity to engage in professionally supported one-on-one mentoring.
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) has two core programs, community-based and school-based, distinguished by where the mentors meet with youth, ages 6-18.
In a rigorous, scientific evaluation conducted by Public/Private Ventures, Making a Difference, Big Brothers Big Sisters’ community-based, one-on-one mentoring program was proven to have a meaningful, positive impact on the lives of young people. Among its findings, youth in the program were:
- 52 percent less likely to skip school,
- 46 percent less likely to begin using illegal drugs, and
- more likely to get along with their families and peers.
OUR INVESTMENT
EMCF invested $20.2 million in BBBS from 2001 to 2011. During this period, BBBS more than doubled the number of youth between the ages of 9 and 24 it served annually, expanding from 70,000 in 2001 to 155,118 in 2011.
Our investment also helped BBBS pilot its school-based mentoring program, conduct a rigorous evaluation of the model, and use the findings of that evaluation to improve it.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters at bbbs.org.