Learn About Big Brothers Big Sisters!

Big Brothers Big Sisters programs are proven to have a significant and positive impact on the lives of children, according to the first-ever nationwide impact study of a mentoring organization.

Big Brothers Big Sisters seeks to serve the children who need us most. We focus on children growing up in a single parent household, living in poverty, and coping with parental incarceration. We also target traditionally underserved communities such as the Native American community and the children of deployed military personnel.

In the United States there are over 22 million children growing up in single-parent families*, 13 million children living in poverty*, and nearly 2 million children with one or both parents in prison**. With additional resources Big Brothers Big Sisters could provide millions of children in need with an additional adult role model to help give them the individual care and attention they need to succeed and thrive in life. You can make a difference by donating or volunteering today!

* The Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT Data Center, datacenter.kidscount.org http://www.kidscount.org/.

**US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Parents in Prison and Their MinorChildren. Published in 2008. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/pptmc.pdf

Big Brothers Big Sisters positively impacts the lives of more than 250,000 children annually.

But our reach exceeds the children in our program. Many of the children we serve have siblings. And they all have at least one caregiver in their life. And they go to school with 20 or more students in each class. And each Big’s life is impacted. And many Bigs have family, friends and colleagues that they share their experience with. And there are millions of former Bigs and Littles across the United States. And those alumni have family, friends and colleagues. And before you know it, millions of people are affected by Big Brothers Big Sisters!

Just ask the people you know. It is likely that someone in your life has been positively impacted by our programs!

While New York City and Cincinnati were homes to the first two known Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in the United States, the national office has been located in Philadelphia since 1947.

Big Brothers Big Sisters depends on donations of both time and money to help us change the lives of children. We do not charge volunteers or children, and we depend on donations for our quality match support staff. Our match support staff members are what differentiate us from other mentoring organizations. They are why the mentoring relationships last long and have successful outcomes.

In 1912 The New York Times reported Big Brothers activity in 26 cities. What began as a grassroots movement in 1904 was quickly spreading across the country to help vulnerable children.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is located in all 50 States, Puerto Rico, and Guam. We also have international locations in 12 countries around the world.

For seven consecutive years Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has received the top rating, four out of four stars, from Charity Navigator for financial efficiency and effective use of donations.