Our Mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported 1-to-1 relationships that change their lives for the better…forever.
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.
In 2010, BBBS of the Bay Area served a total of 1,110 youth and this year our goal is to maintain those matches while expanding our capacity to provide additional mentors to some of the nearly 800 children who are on our waiting list.
What would it take to clear the nearly 800 children off of our waiting list? It would not only take a significant influx of new volunteers (especially men in the East Bay, South Bay and Peninsula); but additional funding as well.
This is because our matches are professionally supported; providing intensive case management from the time a match begins until the match has ended; ensuring the healthy development of the match relationship.
But, such professional support comes at a cost (approximately $2,000 during the first year of the match and $1,500 each year thereafter). Matching additional children and youth beyond that which we already serve – would require an increase in staffing capacity. This is why BBBSBA is not just a volunteer organization, but a volunteer and donor organization.
And even when we’re able to raise the additional funding to match all of the children currently waiting to be matched – we would still need to grow as an agency to match the over 100 new child applications we receive each month. Click here to learn more about our programs and how you can help serve more children.
Our Vision
We envision a day when every child is empowered to have big hopes and big dreams to achieve their unlimited potential.
BBBSBA Tax ID #23-7108045
