Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area  (BBBSBA)

Providing a child with a Big Brother or Big Sister – someone they can look up to, explore the world with, put their trust in – can be life-changing. Just by spending one-on-one time with a special friend who offers new experiences and new choices, a child learns more about the world and their own place in it. From the moment they are matched with a mentor a door is opened, and the future is full of possibilities.  With your help, we can open that door for hundreds more kids in the Bay Area.

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.

BBBSBA in the Local Community

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 2009, BBBSBA served a total of 1,043 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.  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. 

Because BBBSBA is a donor-supported organization, we rely on local funding to allow us to offer services to the community – all of which are offered free of charge to enrolled children and families. 79 percent of our agency’s funding comes from private sources and 81 percent of every dollar donated goes directly into making and supporting Big&Little matches.

Research shows that our mentoring programs work. Kids matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister are:

• More confident in their performance at school/homework
• Able to get along better with their families
• 52 percent less likely to skip school
• 46 percent less likely to begin using illegal drugs

Our vision is to provide a mentor to every child in need across five Bay Area counties.  Click here to learn more about our programs and how you can help.