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We often hear from the Big and Little about how the program has impacted their lives. But this letter is from a parent, Damia, who provides unwavering support for her son, and simply wants the best for him.      

About five years ago, I got an overwhelming feeling of sadness for Jayvion, because all he ever longed for was a Dad. It hurt me to see him in pain. I then reached out to the Big Brothers Big Sisters program in the Bay (CA) area to see what it was all about. I received a lot of helpful information and less than a year later, Jayvion was matched with his Big Brother Taurean. I think that was the best day for all of us. Now, four years later, Jayvion and Taurean have maintained a positive, consistent friendship.
 
My hopes and dreams for Jayvion are for him to remain true to himself, to sit in his emotions and to never let anyone tell him he cannot do something, because he can.

 
I think programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters are so great and so needed in the world we live in today, especially with COVID-19 and social distancing. It is unfortunate that a lot of humans are single parents for a host of different reasons or raising a child alone by choice. To have a program that supports you and your child is everything to me. This is a lonely time for a lot of people in the world, not to mention all of the lives lost. It is nice to know my son has his own person to laugh, play and vent to if need be, during these unprecedented times.
Thanks to caring parents like Damia and committed Bigs like Taurean, we have seen the resiliency of our Littles. But there are many more who deserve someone who can defend their potential. Your financial gift to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America will provide support to the 236 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies around the country, that are igniting the potential of our nation’s youth. And now through December 31, 2020, Nordstrom Rack is matching all donations, up to $100,00! Consider making a gift today.

When Big Sister Emily Chen and her Little Sister Denñys connect these days, the conversations revolve around career advice and work-life balance. Today, their friendship has evolved quite a bit since their weekend lunch outings 28 years ago when Emily would flip through flash cards to help Denñys improve her math skills.   Denñys (pronounced Denn-yez) was 8 years old and growing up as an only child in New York City. Having a Big Sister allowed Denñys the opportunity to just be a kid. But the lessons that came through sharing their very different lives, are the moments Denñys valued most with her Big Sister Emily. “Families are not always available and may not be able to give a child another point of reference or view. But Bigs offer objective, unbiased advice and a different perspective. The friendship introduces them to other aspects of life,” said Denñys.   Emily’s desire to give back is inspired by the caring adults who supported her when she came to the United States at age 5.

The impactful friendship that grew over the years earned Emily and Denñys the opportunity to visit the White House in 1998 when Big Brothers Big Sisters of America recognized Emily as the National Big Sister of the Year. Fast forward to today, and they still laugh about the little things. Growing up Emily stressed to Denñys the importance of being on time—now Denñys is the early one when the pair meets up, and Emily is often late. Big Sister Emily is amazed and inspired at how Little Sister Denñys never gives up and remains calm and level headed no matter what is happening.

As a donor, Treasurer and member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Board of Directors, Emily believes investing in children achieves the best returns. “Through the Littles I’ve met, I’m able to see first-hand improvements in their confidence, self-worth and grades along with higher rates of high school graduation and attending college while setting career goals. The program fosters strong long-lasting life changing relationships. I’ve also met kids on the wait list and heard how much they would love to have a mentor. Unfortunately, that list is too long.”
 
More than 30,000 young people across the country are waiting for their chance to be matched with a Big. Your financial gift to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America will provide support to the 230+ Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies around the country, that are defending the potential of our nation’s youth. Now through December 31, 2020, Nordstrom Rack is matching all donations to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, up to $100,000! We encourage you to consider making a gift today.
Click here to donate.

GUEST: CHARITABLE GIVING HELPS BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS SUPPORT NATION’S YOUTH DURING PANDEMIC

Throughout the month of December, the Charitable Giving Coalition will be featuring a variety of voices in the charitable sector through our Season of Giving Guest Blog Series. These posts feature a fraction of the endless good work America’s nonprofit organizations are doing. 

For nearly seven years, I have had the honor of leading Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. As the nation’s oldest mentoring organization, we pair caring adult mentors (called ‘Bigs’) with youth (called ‘Littles’) to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. And 16-year-old Hope is a great example of that.

Hope, like many of the young people we serve, is being raised by extended family; in Hope’s case, her 90-year-old great grandfather is caring for her. When you think about what we are all coping with these days—pandemic, economic uncertainty—for young people like Hope, those challenges are compounded by the fact they are unable to enjoy the day-to-day connection they would have at school or hanging out with friends. Add the complexities of virtual learning and the digital divide, it’s not easy. Hope’s Big Sister Paula has been a shoulder to lean on when Hope needed it most, providing a bit of normalcy when life is anything but normal. Despite it all, Hope is doing great in school: two As, two Bs and two Cs. It’s the encouragement from her Big Sister that has made an impact. And it’s a reminder to us, that our Littles—and youth across the country–are resilient.

Our mentoring programs remain strong because supporters understand that when you invest in nonprofit organizations like Big Brothers

Big Sisters, you are making a long-lasting impact in the community. Our 236 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies located in 5,000 communities are providing an even higher level of support to keep Bigs and Littles connected, while also helping families find the resources they need.

Since the pandemic, more than 10,000 new Littles have been matched with a Big. Agencies have learned to be innovative, using our new technology and virtual messaging platform, MatchConnect, that has made it easier for Bigs, Littles and support staff to stay in touch. Relationships with the families of our Littles ranges from coordinating food drives for families to providing Littles with the technology they need to attend virtual school.

This giving season, we hope policymakers will continue to support nonprofit organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters through expanding and extending giving incentives like the universal charitable deduction. We will get through this together, and our goal is to continue to empower the resilience of Hope and all of our nation’s youth.

Pam Iorio
President and CEO
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

After two terms as Tampa’s mayor and nearly seven years as president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Pam Iorio is retiring. And as the 61-year-old moves into the next stage of her life, she expressed pride in passing a more stable organization to her successor, Artis Stevens, who will serve as the organization’s first Black CEO in its 116-year history.

“There’s so much room for growth of our mission,” Iorio said. “And I think Artis is exactly the type of leader that Big Brothers Big Sisters needs right now.”

Read full article here.

For more than three decades, Big Brothers Big Sisters has partnered with the Arby’s Foundation to build more than two million mentoring relationships across the country! The mentoring connection isn’t just when the friendship begins, but has a long-lasting impact years later. The Arby’s Foundation believes every kid deserves to ‘Dream Big’ and pursue their dreams with confidence. So, to celebrate this milestone, we are launching the #DreamingBig Campaign to share the stories of incredible Bigs and Littles who are still connected, 10, 20 and in some cases, 30 years later. We’re kicking off the campaign with the story of Little Sister Jessica who met her Big Sister Deborah in the 1990s. That experience inspired Jessica to help other Littles—she’s now the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland! Read their story here and visit the site often for new stories that will inspire you to become a part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters movement. #DreamingBig #BiggerTogether

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the nation’s most experienced mentoring organization is now providing a new podcast series to help parents and mentors prevent youth from falling victim to the opioid crisis. The national Mentoring Youth Impacted by Opioids (MYIO) grant, one-to-one mentoring program, pairs mentors (called ‘Bigs’) with youth, aged 9 to young 17 (called ‘Littles’). Big Brothers Big Sisters’ evidence-based approach is designed to create positive youth outcomes, including educational success, avoidance of risky behaviors, and improved relationships. Parents/guardians and mentors will have access to the new Opioid Abuse Prevention Podcast Series beginning in October, which is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month.

The 10-episode podcast series will feature experts from Caron Treatment Centers, Tower Health and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Topics include: The Opioid Epidemic—Where it StandsThriving Despite Trauma–Practical Strategies for Instilling Resiliency in Youth; and

The Importance of a Positive Peer Culture in Opioid Abuse Prevention.

When comparing Big Brothers Big Sisters Risk and Protective Inventory (RPI) data to national data, parents who have children enrolled in a Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program report that 28% have one or more family members who has a problem with alcoholism or drug use, compared to 8% children nationally.

The goal of the podcast series is to decrease the likelihood that youth will engage in opioid or illicit substance use and provide support to those who are impacted by personal or family-member opioid abuse.

“We know the strength of our mentoring program relies not only on the connection between the Big and the Little, but the support from the parent or guardian, too.” said Pam Iorio, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. “Whenever we can offer an extra layer of guidance or additional resources to our families, we can play a role in that young person’s success.”

“Tragically, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to even more families being affected by opioid use disorder,” said Tammy Granger, Vice President of Education at Caron Treatment Centers. “That’s why it’s more critical than ever that parents, caregivers, and mentors are educated about the disease of addiction and empowered to support the well-being of their loved ones and ‘Littles’ during these challenging times.”

This podcast series is funded by the Mentoring Youth Impacted by Opioids (MYIO) grant #2018-JU-FX-0023 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this podcast, (including, without limitation, its content, policies, and any services or tools provided).

The series will be available to the 236 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country. Click here to listen to one of the podcast episodes, Thriving Despite Trauma—Practical Strategies for Instilling Resiliency in Youth.

Big Sister Ashley and Little Sister Brianna – BBBS of Central Texas

By nature, Brianna is quiet, but it’s her artwork and smile that light up the room. Brianna’s mother knew her daughter had potential, but in middle school, Brianna would often close herself off, not wanting to talk to anyone. When she met her Big Sister Ashley, they realized they had two main things in common: a love of frozen yogurt and they are not big fans of being outdoors! Even though they started to connect, Ashley knew her Little Sister still had walls up.

What she didn’t know, was that when Brianna’s serious relationship with her girlfriend ended, severe bullying intensified. “I didn’t tell anyone about it, I had never experienced that before,” said Brianna. “I was in a very dark place and didn’t want to be here anymore.”

But it was during her lowest time that Brianna realized that she did have a strong support system in her family—and her Big Sister Ashley—who were there for her, not to judge, but to listen.

The past four years have been a long journey of healing and building trust.  Ashley admires Brianna’s resiliency and courageous spirit. Brianna graduated this year, and hopes to pursue a career in art therapy, to help other young people know, no matter what they’re going through, they’re not alone.

The National Football League has launched a new national PSA featuring Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. The PSA will highlight the work for the NFL and Big Brothers Big Sisters as part of the league’s Inspire Change Initiative. You’ll see the PSA air during NFL games, NFL Network programming, and across the NFL’s digital platforms and social media channels. Be sure to share our posts from our Big Brothers Big Sisters social media channels, too. You can get in the game by sharing on social and using the hashtags #InspireChange and #BiggerTogether. And if you missed the debut of the PSA, click here to watch it on our YouTube page.  You’ll also have a chance to see it throughout the NFL season!

For Little Brother Tony, it was something he knew was long overdue—learning to swim.
 
It was all about trust, though, and throughout his life, besides his grandparents, there weren’t a lot people Tony felt he could rely on.
His Big Brother Gerry Chambers taught him to float and encouraged him, letting Tony know he could make it across the deep end to the other side. That day was more than just about learning how to swim: Tony realized then Gerry would be there for him. “He’s my number one supporter, he’ll always be in my corner,” said Tony.
 
Gerry remembers that day too, but it wasn’t until much later that he understood just how important that rite of passage was for Tony. He says it’s an example of how his Little Brother has faced his challenges head on and how his confidence has grown over the past five years.
 
The two were matched through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester (NY). Gerry is a Karma Water Advisor & Shareholder, and appreciates that the company is now getting involved to support the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters to defend the potential of youth across the country. Karma Water believes in the mantra that what we do today will affect tomorrow, including paying it forward, a philosophy Gerry believes in, too.
 
Along the way Gerry has learned from Tony—how to be more patient, understanding, empathetic. “When you put in the effort, the return is special,” said Gerry. “Being a Big is unlike anything you get from other volunteering opportunities.”
 

When a parent or guardian picks up the phone to call their local Big Brothers Big Sisters agency to enroll their child in our mentoring program, it’s not something they take lightly. Maribel has four children who are matched with Bigs, and friendship doesn’t just happen overnight.

“…Because  in my culture, letting your kids go out with someone you don’t know…it’s difficult for us to trust. But when I gave my kids the opportunity to learn from different cultures, different backgrounds, it made a huge impact on them.”

Maribel’s daughter, Nena, met her Big Sister Janet through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Minnesota a decade ago. Janet was enjoying semi-retirement and was looking for a meaningful way to give back; Nena, a fun-loving little girl, had encountered her share of challenges in her young life. And over the years, their bond became tighter, enjoying the simple things, grabbing a book to read or learning to bake. Follow us on social media to see more of this story and others like it! Nena’s mom sees first-hand, it’s not about focusing on the outing they may enjoy, but the true friendship the Big and Little are building based on trust.

And to Maribel, that’s what defending a child’s potential is all about. Do you know someone who could benefit from having an additional positive role model in their life? Or maybe you know someone who would be a great Big? Visit our website, click on Enroll a Child or Become a Big for more information. You’ll be glad you did.