In order to meet the needs of children, families, and volunteers in the communities we serve, BBBS SEPA strives to implement innovative programs and strategies for reaching more children and youth. Our strong relationships with the National Office of Big Brothers Big Sisters allows us to work with them to replicate the most successful initiatives.

Among our noteworthy initiatives are:

• Amachi:  BBBS SEPA's Amachi Program reaches out to children who have an incarcerated parent. This is an especially vulnerable group. Statistics for these children reflect a grim future: Studies show that children of prisoners are six times more likely than other children to be incarcerated at some point in their lives¹ and, according to a U.S. Senate report² , as many as 70% of children of incarcerated parents will themselves become incarcerated.

BBBS SEPA reaches out to these "children of promise" by providing them with a Big Brother or Big Sister mentor. Many of these mentors are drawn from the faith community, and we have over 50 partner churches throughout our three-county service area.

• College Bigs: College students build great relationships with elementary and middle school students through our College Bigs initiative.

Our PennBigs program is especially noteworthy for being a partnership with Joe Tierney, Executive Director of Penn's Robert A. Fox Leadership Program, and the lead author of the landmark Public/Private Ventures study documenting the effectiveness of the BBBS model of mentoring. Together, BBBS SEPA and Fox are committed to making the PennBigs program the largest university program in the U.S.

• Teach for America partnership: In Philadelphia, a partnership with the local Teach for America affiliate means that, at Shaw Middle School, all the students in two classes taught by a Teach for America teacher are matched with Big Brothers and Big Sisters from the University of Pennsylvania.

• "Changes for Chester": As a member of the Chester Youth Collaborative, BBBS SEPA will work with the local community to engage youth and to provide Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors to children who live in Chester.  This initiative is supported by the William Penn Foundation, and builds on some of the success that BBBS SEPA has had in Chester and at Showalter Middle School.

1] Barnhill S. and Dressel, P., Three Generations at Risk, Atlanta, GA: Aid to Imprisoned Mothers. 1991

2] Report from the 106th Congress, 2nd Session.

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