Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Flint
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Flint’s mission is “to provide children primarily from single-parent families with the friendship of a positive role model.” They were established in 1944 and have existed for over 60 years as one of over 500 agencies located throughout the U. S. under the leadership of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Inc., which has over 100 years of experience in providing mentorship services to youth. In 1954, Charles Stewart Mott was named Big Brother of the Year.
Local programs include:
- Traditional One-To-One Program
- Mentoring Children of Prisoners
- School-Based Mentoring
- 100 Men/100 Boys
BBBSGF has established a track record of providing exemplary, professionally supervised mentoring services for more than 40,000 at-risk children in Genesee County and are considered a leader in recruiting, screening, selecting, training, and monitoring volunteer mentors. Their current motto is: “Little Moments, Big Magic.” For a little time (one hour/week for one year), a big difference can be made in the life of a child.
“We must continue to provide funding for these types of mentoring programs so that at-risk children are able to avoid a life of drugs, crime and violence. The Mentoring Children of Prisoners Program has already prevented thousands of children from following in their parent’s footsteps by providing them with a safe and stable environment,” said Congressman Dale E. Kildee.
This organization is always in need of adult mentors, especially males. About 70% of the mentors are female and about 70% of the children enrolled in the programs are young boys. Girls are usually matched faster than the boys because of available mentors. It is typically more challenging to recruit men, as this is a national, as well as local concern.
For more information please call Ms. Reta Stanley (Interim Executive Director) or Ms. Janet Sweet (Casework Supervisor) of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Flint at 810.235.0617.
