Date

Event

1902

Ernest Coulter, court clerk, helps organize the first New York Children's Court; Ladies of Charity, later Catholic Big Sisters of New York, start to befriend girls who come before the New York Children's Court

1903

Businessman Irvin F. Westheimer befriends a young boy in Cincinnati, OH; seeds are formed for start of Big Brothers in Cincinnati

1904

Ernest Coulter founds the organized Big Brothers movement by obtaining 39 volunteers, who each agree to befriend one boy

1912

The New York Times reports Big Brothers activity in 26 cities

1914

Ernest Coulter embarks on nationwide lecture tour on behalf of Big Brothers; planning begins for a national Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization

1916

Big Brothers work has spread to 96 cities

1917

The first national conference of Big Brothers and Big Sisters organizations is held in Grand Rapids, MI., leading to the later organization of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation

1923

Big Sisters work geared to African-Americans underway in Louisville, KY and Brooklyn, NY;

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., becomes treasurer of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation;

First motion picture based on a Big and Little Brother relationship released by Paramount Pictures

1925

BB/BSF holds its first conference for agency executives;

President Calvin Coolidge becomes patron of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation

1930

Six hundred delegates attend a Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation meeting in New York City on March 8

1934

President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt become patrons of Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation

1940

National Committee on Big Brothers and Big Sisters service is created to continue to pursue the formation of a national group

1947

Big Brothers Association headquarters opens in Philadelphia

1948

Norman Rockwell produces sketch that becomes a symbol for the Big Brothers Association

1951

Big Brothers of the Year Program begins, Associate Justice Tom Clark of the U.S. Supreme Court and J. Edgar Hoover are named

1952

Ernest Coulter dies

1958

Big Brothers Association is chartered by Congress

1969

Big Brothers Association grows to 150 affiliated agencies

1970

Big Sisters International is incorporated

1971

Big Brothers Association reports 208 affiliates

1977

Big Sisters International and Big Brothers Association merge, forming Big Brothers Big Sisters with 357 agencies

1984

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America occupies its new headquarters at 230 North 13th Street in Philadelphia

1985

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is honored with a commemorative stamp by the Postmaster General

1986

Big Brothers Big Sisters begins long range governance planning process: creating standards and required procedures

1989

Public/Private Venture's begins study to gauge impact on youth of having a Big Brother or Sister

1994

Big Brothers Big Sisters kicks of Project 21st Century to develop mission and vision statements, goals and strategies;

"How-To" mentoring training developed

1995

Public/Private Venture's Study research shows measurable, positive results on youth who have a Big Brother or Sister; seminal research in the field of youth mentoring

1997

President William J. Clinton holds Volunteer Summit in Philadelphia, Big Brothers Big Sisters plays key role

1998

Big Brothers Big Sisters International is founded

2000

Big Brothers Big Sisters in Schools becomes a core program, partnerships with schools and volunteer-rich organizations such as churches, colleges, employers, and fraternities are emphasized, including the piloting of the Amachi Big Brothers Big Sisters program which matches children of prisoners with church congregants

2001

Brand New Thinking marketing program focuses on the shared experiences to broaden volunteer appeal and the tagline "Little Moments, Big Magic" is developed

2002

A consistent approach for providing services to children at all agencies is created to increase Big Brothers Big Sisters’ ability to offer quality services to greater numbers of youth

2003

President George W. Bush announces three-year $450 million mentoring initiative in State of the Union Address

2004

Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrates 100 years of serving America’s youth

2006

First Lady Laura Bush stars in a public service announcement to recruit volunteers across the nation