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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Florida (BBBS) was established in 1975 and has served thousands of children within Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy, and Marion counties. Our vision is to provide successful mentoring relationships for children who need and want them and to contribute to education and stronger communities for all. Our mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships.

Staff and volunteers are proud to have had two “National Big Brother of the Year” winners (1984 & 2004), two “State Big Sister of the Year” winners (2006 & 2008), and two Arby’s scholarship winners (1999) for $20,000 and $1,000.

The BBBS program is one of the most effective methods of preventing delinquency and encouraging positive development of young people. Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), a Philadelphia-based research group, conducted a five-year study of BBBS agencies nationwide called “Making a Difference: An Impact Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters.” It found that youth matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister were:

• 46% less likely to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking
• 52% less likely to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip classes
• 33% less likely than their peers to report hitting someone
• More trusting of their parents or guardians and less likely to lie to them
• Felt more supported and less criticized by their peers and friends
• Earned higher grades and had a more positive attitude about how they did in school

BBBS volunteers had the greatest impact in preventing alcohol and substance abuse, with minority boys and girls being the most strongly influenced (70% less likely than peers to initiate drug use). What makes our matches such a powerful influence on children’s life choices? The answer lies in the special mentoring approach of BBBS of carefully matching and supporting volunteers to suit a child’s developmental needs.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said, “This is the time to…get back to the task of building our children. No organization does it better than Big Brothers Big Sisters.”

Currently, President Obama endorses mentoring programs as a prioity investment in our nation’s youth.