The Mission of BBBST

The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle, Inc. (BBBST) is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with measurable impact. We accomplish this goal through the establishment of long-lasting and one-to-one mentoring relationships utilizing targeted program components to address the needs of our children. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) has been the nation’s premiere name in youth mentoring; as the affiliate serving the Triangle region of NC (Raleigh, Durham, & Chapel Hill), we provide these services to at-risk youth ages 6-14 primarily from low-income single parent homes.

 The Model of BBBST

On March 31st, 2007, USA Today began a series saluting our nation’s top 25 non-profit organizations for the impact they have had on our country. In that first article they highlighted Big Brothers Big Sisters for our proven results. With a hundred years of history behind our model and support from a lead National monitoring agency, we can assure the safety and success of our program participants in a way that no other mentoring service can provide. Our model is proud to highlight an extensive screening and training process with on-going match support for “Bigs”, “Littles”, and their families. These services are provided to over 1,100 local children annually who participate in Community-Based and Site-Based mentoring initiatives throughout the Triangle.

 BBBST Today

In order to better reach and serve the youth of this growing region, the long standing individual county affiliate programs (Big Brothers Big Sisters of Durham and Orange Counties, and the YMCA Big Brothers Big Sisters of Wake County) merged into Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle (BBBST) in 2005. In that first year we served nearly 400 children. Now, barely three years later, we currently serve over 1,000 children annually. We are on target to serve 2,000 high risk children by 2010. In addition we maintain a waiting list of 140-150 children hoping to find someone to care for them. Of the 1,100 children served in 2007, approximately 460 are from Wake County, 290 from Orange County, and 350 from Durham County. Of these children, 95% are living below poverty level, 92% are from single-parent homes, and 86% are minorities.  

Signature One-to-One  

One heart reach out - one hand reaches out - we begin to change lives. It all starts with someone caring and believing in your potential, and then in a combination of little moments to reinforce that message we see BIG magic unfold in the lives of our children, our volunteers, and our community.  We regularly infom our volunteers that it is easier than you think and that you dont need to change your life to change theirs. Then something happens. We know the impact of mentoring in the lives of these children through extensive tracking, data, and studies. But often we hear our volunteers tell a smiliar story of how they never expected it to change their lives as profoundly as it has – to move them, shape them, and leave them on their own life journey better than they began.