Our Mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with measurable impact.
Our History
Big Brothers was founded in New York City in 1904 by Court Clerk Ernest Coulter. Appalled by the suffering and misery of the thousands of children who came through his courtroom, he appealed to civic and business leaders to take on the role of a “Big Brother”. By 1916, BBBS had spread to 96 cities across the country. Today there are more than 450 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies operating in all 50 states … and in 12 countries around the world.
In the Bay Area
Big Brothers Big Sisters has been providing Bay Area youth with professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships in San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa Counties since 1958.
In March of 2006, three separate Bay Area agencies, (BBBS of San Francisco & Peninsula, BBBS of the East Bay, and BBBS of Santa Clara County) merged to form Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area (BBBSBA), in order to more efficiently serve the community and be positioned for growth to meet the increasing demand for services.
Our Administrative headquarters are in San Francisco, with additional program offices in the East Bay (Oakland) and South Bay (Milpitas). In addition to maintaining the dedicated services of more than a thousand volunteers who serve as mentors, BBBSBA employs 24 staff members who make and support our matches in all five counties and in eight school sites where we offer after-school mentoring programs.
In 2008, BBBS of the Bay Area served a total of 1,093 youth and this year our goal is to maintain those matches while expanding our capacity to provide additional mentors to some of the nearly 1,000 children who are on our waiting list.
It’s not a lack of volunteers that keeps us from making more matches – we’ve seen an enormous increase in the number of volunteers applying to be a mentor. In fact, BBBSBA has a waiting list of over 1,700 volunteers who have committed to spend quality one-on-one time with a child as a mentor and a friend.
What it will take to begin to clear these waiting lists and make a positive difference in the lives of hundreds of Bay Area kids is to increase our agency’s capacity by raising additional funds to professionally and safely screen, match, support and nurture more matches. Click here to learn more about our programs and how you can help.
Our Vision
There are hundreds of children and families in our area who need our program. Our VISION is to provide successful mentoring relationships for all Bay Area children who need and want them, contributing to better schools, brighter futures, and stronger communities for us all.
BBBSBA Tax ID #23-7108045
