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ABOUT US

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Gulf Coast (BBBSCGC)  is the largest one-to-one mentoring organization in south Alabama and Mississippi serving over 600 children and a minimum of 1,800 people annually across seven counties. Our mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. We enlist adult volunteers, “Bigs”, and match them with “Littles,” who are children between the ages of 6-15 and would benefit the most from having a Big. The purpose of our services is to give children a caring and supportive adult mentor, who’s been thoroughly screened and trained, that will guide them to success, hold them accountable, and help them reach their full potential.

BBBS is America’s most impactful volunteer experience because our services provide a tangible way to change a life. We are not saviors or heroes. Instead, we create and professionally support meaningful match relationships to help children ignite and harness their own potential—the potential they have had all along. And Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country have been doing just that for 120 years; locally we’ve been serving families for over 20 years. We clear a path to a child’s biggest possible future in partnership with the child’s parent/guardian and Big. Big Brothers Big Sisters regularly keep a waiting list of children and schools requesting their services. Our Littles have the potential to change the world, and we are standing together to defend them. Join us.

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SCHOOL-BASED
MENTORING PROGRAM

Our School-based mentoring program is in 41 schools and we currently have 39 local Corporate Partners, who allow their employees one hour a week to visit their Littles at school. School-based mentoring takes place on school grounds during school hours. During the summer, the matches are encouraged to write letters to one another until the new school year starts back. Matches are encouraged to talk about academics, aspirations, and just have fun. It’s really all about friendship, guidance and building a relationship. A Match Specialist is assigned to each match and stays in contact with the Big, Little, school, and guardian through the entire relationship. Big Brothers Big Sisters is always there for Bigs; it’s a partnership.

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COMMUNITY-BASED
MENTORING PROGRAM

Community-based Mentoring is the traditional Big Brothers Big Sisters relationship. Community-based mentoring is all about one-on-one time spent with the volunteer and the child doing things they enjoy in the community. The commitment is one year with the goal for the match to spend an average of 6 hours a month together.  “Bigs” meet their “Littles” on the weekend or in the evening after school. In research conducted in 1994 and 1995, researchers found that after 18 months of spending time with their Bigs, the Little Brothers and Little Sisters, compared to those children not in our program, were: 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs, 27% less likely to begin using alcohol, 52% less likely to skip school, 37% less likely to skip a class and 33% less likely to hit someone.

Any questions about our programs or about becoming a Big can be emailed to Kelly Qualls, VP of Programs at kelly@centralgulfbbbs,.org.

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