The Big Brothers Big Sisters Mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with measurable impact.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest, largest and most effective youth mentoring organization in the United States. We have been the leader in one-to-one youth service for more than a century, developing positive relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of young people. Big Brothers Big Sisters serves children, ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country – including ours.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland provides mentoring services to children throughout Cuyahoga County. More than 1,500 children were served last year; yet demand for our services continues to grow. In July 2003, the Plain Dealer published a series of articles called “Children Left Behind”, comparing Cleveland to 9 other cities on several quality of life indicators. Cleveland ranked last in virtually every category, including poor housing, poverty and single parenting. In addition to the estimated 31.3% of its population living in poverty, nearly one-half of Cleveland’s children are among the poor, the highest rate among American cities with populations exceeding 250,000 (cited from the Plain Dealer, “Cleveland No.1 in Big-City Poverty”, August 27, 2004). There are approximately 56,500 single-parent households with children under age 18 in Cuyahoga County; of those, more than 33,500 are living below the federal poverty level.Clearly, the need for mentoring, tutoring and positive after-school activites has never been greater.

Our Mentoring Works

National research has shown the positive relationships between youth and their Big Brothers and Big Sisters have a direct and measurable impact on children's lives. Little Brothers and Sisters are:

• More confident in their schoolwork performance
• Able to get along better with their families
• 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
• 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
• 52% less likely to skip school

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