OUR MISSION
To provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.
OUR VISION
To provide successful mentoring relationships for children who need and want them, and to contribute to education, and stronger communities for all.
OUR ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT
To achieve our mission, our accountability statement includes a commitment to measure and be responsible for specific youth outcomes that focus on educational achievement, avoidance of risky behaviors (especially juvenile delinquency), higher self-esteem, confidence, and ability to relate to others. Both locally and nationally, we will define success based on our outcomes and scale, expanding and refining our impact through innovation and continuous improvement.
By working collaboratively with parents, children, donors, and partners in our communities, we share accountability for the children we serve and for the positive outcomes we work to achieve. We will drive collaboration, as a leader in the youth services sector, to find solutions—locally and nationally—to the challenges our country’s disadvantaged youth face.
OUR HISTORY
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s roots date to 1904, when Ernest Coulter, a New York City court clerk, established Big Brothers to match caring adults with young people who were getting into trouble. At the same time, members of Ladies of Charity were befriending girls who had come through the New York Children’s Court. That group would later become Catholic Big Sisters, and subsequently, Big Sisters International. In 1977, the two independent groups, Big Brothers Association and Big Sisters International, united together to become Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Expanding its reach even further, Big Brothers Big Sisters International was founded in 1998, and now serves children in 12 countries. (Go to About Us, scroll and watch video, “100 Years of Big Brothers Big Sisters).
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Florida
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Mid-Florida was established in 1977 and has served thousands of children within the mid-Florida area. Our coverage includes Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy, and Marion County.
Staff and volunteers are proud to have had two “National Big Brother of the Year” winners (1984 & 2004), two “State Big Sister of the Year” winners (2006 & 2008), and two Arby’s scholarship winners (1999) for $20,000 and $1,000.
IMPACT
The BBBS program is one of the most effective methods of preventing delinquency and encouraging positive development of young people. This year Mid-Florida statistics showed:
- 78% of children feel more socially accepted
- 78% of children have increased their scholastic competency
- 88% of children believe they will now finish school
- 71% of children improved in their grades
- 100% of children have avoided drugs
- 82% of children have reported improvements in their family relationships
- 100% of children avoided involvement the Juvenile Justice system