The Big Brothers Big Sisters Movement

For over a century, Big Brothers and Big Sisters have helped children reach their potential through professionally supported one-to-one relationships with proven results. Below are some benchmarks:

1904: A young New York City court clerk named Ernest Coulter sees more and more boys come through his courtroom. He recognizes that caring adults can help many of these kids stay out of trouble and he sets out to find volunteers ... marking the beginning of the Big Brothers movement.

1916: Big Brothers has already spread to 96 cities across the country. Members of a group called Ladies of Charity start befriending girls who have come through the New York Children’s Court. (NOTE: That group will later become Catholic Big Sisters.)

1977: Big Brothers of America and Big Sisters International join forces and became Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

2008: Big Brothers Big Sisters remains true to our founders’ vision of bringing caring mentors into the lives of children. Big Brothers Big Sisters operates in all 50 states and in 12 countries around the world!

Rappahannock Big Brothers Big Sisters

1967: The Reverend Thomas G. Faulkner, Rector of St. George's Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg, is instrumental in founding the Rappahannock Big Brothers agency.

1974: The Agency incorporates a Big Sister chapter as part of its program, making it the first organization in Virginia to sanction a combined Big Brother Big Sister program. (NOTE: Rappahannock Big Brothers Big Sisters, Inc. is still a full-member agency of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and serves the city of Fredericksburg, and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford.)

1999: RBBBS is administering a core program with 90 matches, as well as an after-school program (“M&M’s”) in three different schools and a new Sports Buddies mentoring program.

2000: The agency launches “Campus Pals”, a new mentoring program, with 27 matches, primarily between freshmen college students and children from the agency’s waiting list and also those referred by area schools. The one-on-one program takes place on Sunday afternoons on the college campus, with occasional group activities, with emphasis on sharing friendship and exposing youth to a college environment.

2000: RBBBS expands its school-based programs (M&M’s) and begins corporate mentoring partnerships in Stafford County with McQ Associates and GEICO, providing mentors for Falmouth and Hartwood Elementary schools respectively.

2001: The agency expands to six different elementary schools and serves 85 matches through its M&M’s programs.

2001: Staff grows to six members including an Executive Director, a Director of Development (a new position), an Administrative Assistant, a School Mentoring Coordinator, and two Caseworkers. The agency has a Board of Directors with twenty-five members, a budget of $161,595, and four annual special events that raise vital funds: a “Winter Warm-Up” party (in February), Bowl for Kids’ Sake (in March), Taste of Fredericksburg (in May), and a Golf Classic (in September). In addition, two Giving Campaigns are held.

2002: RBBBS adds a fourth mentoring program called “Bigs for a Day” to provide a different level of service to youth and a new way for volunteers in the community to get involved. Civic, church and school groups sponsor activities for waiting list youth such as the Fredericksburg Jaycees “Bowling Day” and the Fredericksburg Moose “Funland Day” generating visibility and helping with volunteer recruitment as well as keeping waiting list children connected to the agency.

2003: 96 youth participate in “Bigs for a Day.”

2003: The agency employs seven staff members (3 full-time, 4 part-time), including a contracted Grant Writer who replaces the Director of Development and a contractual Special Projects Consultant to assist with graphics, public relations and fundraising. (NOTE: Since the Grant Writer began in July 2002, nearly $60,000 in grants were awarded to RBBBS enabling the creation of the following new mentoring projects: “Sunbeam Sisters” (Sunshine Lady Foundation), “Bigs in the Burg” (Philip Graham Fund), and “Protect & Respect Intergenerational Program” (The Governor’s Office). In addition, over the past several years, the agency's fundraising efforts gained steam and special events attracted ever-increasing corporate sponsorship and community participation.)

2003: The RBBBS website, newsletter, and public relations and marketing strategies continue to raise public awareness of the agency and its mission and stir interest in the community's involvement in our organization from both the fundraising and volunteer mentoring arenas.

2004: The agency achieves 198 matches, the most to date.

2004: The agency holds its first Honorary Board meeting. The Honorary Board, comprised of ten members serving 3-year terms, helps RBBBS meet its growth goals by serving as an expansion of the agency’s “think-tank” and helps to garner new sources of income. The agency’s budget grows to $224,122.

2004: RBBBS has a staff of nine (3 full-time, 4 part-time, and 2 contractual), a Board of twenty-eight members and a nine-member Honorary Board. The agency's office space at 325-A Wallace Street is at full capacity. The agency begins the process of adopting a new Service Delivery Model developed by National, including new forms and procedures to ensure efficiency in screening and matching as well as staff-restructuring to include a Match Support Specialist, an Enrollment and Match Specialist, a Program Director, a Customer Relations Specialist, a Bigs in Schools Coordinator, a Recruiter, a Graphic Design Specialist, a Grants Consultant, and an Executive Director.

2004: A professional metrics system is adopted to track progress and ensure accountability. Members of the Board of Directors work with the Executive Director to develop a Strategic Plan, a Board Development Plan and a Fund Development Plan.

2004: The agency’s grant proposal to the US Department of Education is selected, along with 164 other applicants in the country, to receive $477,501, over 3 years and Executive Director Lisa Bales is named as the Project Coordinator for the “Mentor Magic” grant to fund the expansion of the agency’s Bigs in Schools program in the City of Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania and King George. The agency’s staff increases to 12 members, with six at full-time status.

2004-05: The agency hires the services of Ruotolo Associates to conduct a Planning Study to determine how the community views the agency and whether or not it is ready to conduct a community campaign to garner major gifts. Research is conducted and personal interviews are held and it is determined that RBBBS needs to engage in development activities such as educating the public and cultivating prospects before venturing into a major campaign.

2005: Staff is fully functional under the new Service Delivery Model (SDM) developed by National to bring about more efficiency in enrolling volunteers and matching children, as well as to provide better customer service. The agency serves 384 matches, compared to 285 matches in 2004, an increase of 35%.

2006:RBBBS initiates a New Mentor Training program, a requirement of new Big Brother/Big Sister mentors in all programs. (NOTE: The training program module is based on a training that Judy Taylor from EMT in Folsom, California, in partnership with the Mentoring Resource Center/U.S. Department of Education, presented to the RBBBS staff on August 21-22 at the Agency. After RBBBS staff member Alison Mick piloted the new module with a group of Spotsylvania Bigs in Schools volunteers in September, new Program Director, Bobby Anderson, began delivering a steady regimen of New Mentor Training sessions on October 10.)

2006: The number of active matches has increased by 13%, compared to 2005, 5% over National’s growth goal. RBBBS signs a contract with an outside fundraiser to organize and expand the 8th Annual Taste of Fredericksburg, marking the first time that the agency engages a special events consultant to be in charge of a major fundraiser.

2007: The agency is awarded a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to administer a three-year Mentoring Children of Prisoners project.

April 2008: RBBBS has 267 active matches across all programs. The staff is comprised of four full-time as well as seven part-time staff, including a Volunteer Recruitment and Partnership Development Specialist. The Mentoring Children of Prisoners grant project, funded by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, has made over 60 matches and funds a number of key positions at the agency. (NOTE: The grant allows RBBBS to focus services to this special population of children for the first time. While the program front is very positive, the downward trend of the economy is taking its toll on agency finances.)

June 2008: Individual donations are down by $30,000 for the fiscal year and special events are down by $40,000. Staff has been downsized by over 70 hours.

July 2008: The waiting list for children wanting and needing mentors rose to an all time high of 95 and the number of active matches has fallen to 208, compared to 246 matches in the previous month.

Numerous grant proposals (submitted April through July 2008), as well as a couple of new, small fundraisers, scheduled for the first and second quarters of FY 2009, provide hope for closing the gap in the agency's budget.