History and Background

In 1904 a young New York City court clerk named Ernest Coulter began seeing the same troubled boys show up in his courtroom over and over again. He realized that none of these children had a stable, caring adult in their lives. He wondered if responsible volunteers from the community could help these kids stay out of trouble.

He didn"t realize he was starting a movement. But by 1912, there were "Big Brothers" volunteering in 26 cities. By 1916, Big Brothers had spread to 96 cities around the country.

A group called the Ladies of Charity was equally concerned about troubled girls, and its members tried to befriend the girls who came through the New York Children"s Court. This, too, began a chain reaction, and the group eventually became a nationwide organization called "Catholic Big Sisters."

In 1977 the two groups formally merged, becoming Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Today we operate in all 50 states - and in 35 countries around the world.

In the Bay area

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area (BBBSBA) has been serving children in San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa Counties with professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships since 1958. In March of 2006, three Bay Area BBBS agencies, (Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Francisco and the Peninsula, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the East Bay, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Clara County) merged to form this new agency, in order to efficiently serve more children. Our success can be measured in the steady and consistent growth we have maintained since this consolidation, having achieved a 13% increase in the total number of children served in the first 2 years. In 2008, we served a total of 1,093 youth with both Community and School-Based Mentoring Programs in the Bay Area. In addition to over one thousand volunteers who serve as dedicated mentors for these matched youth, BBBSBA also employs 23 staff members who make and support and these matches. Our programs are conducted in all five Bay Area counties with an annual operating budget of nearly $2 million

Guiding Principals:

Our Mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with measurable impact.

There are hundreds of children and families in our area who need our program. Our VISION consists of successful mentoring relationships for all children who need and want them, contributing to better schools, brighter futures, and stronger communities for us all.

We PROMISE to foster a culture of commitment to diversity and inclusion, partnership and collaboration, continuous learning, people development, and high performance.

We intend to be there for every one of them.