Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago (BBBSMC) is committed to bringing the power of mentoring to youth from traditionally underserved communities.   In its efforts of reaching out to these communities, BBBSMC has identified the Hispanic/Latino community as a population that is rapidly growing and that is in need of social services, including mentoring.   (Note that the terms Hispanic and Latino will be used interchangeably)

Hispanic Mentoring

Latinos make up about 14 percent of the nation’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  More than one-third of all Hispanics in the United States are under age 18.  Over one-quarter of Hispanic children under 18 in the U.S. live in poverty.

In the Chicago metropolitan area, Latinos comprise the largest ethnic/minority group.  At more than 1.6 million (City and suburban populations combined), Latinos in Chicago represent the third highest concentration of Latinos in the US, and the second largest concentration of Latinos of Mexican origin living in the US.  More than 20% of all Chicagoland residents are Latinos.  Nearly 30% of all Chicagoland children are Latino, and 38% of all Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students are Latino.  

In response to these numbers, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago (BBBSMC) is committed to increasing its service to the Hispanic population throughout its service area of Cook and DuPage Counties.  Currently, BBBSMC engages the Latino community across the range of its programming.

Five (5) of the 14 public school sites at which we operate School-Based Mentoring programs have majority Latino student populations.  These schools include Jordan Elementary (53% Latino); Ravenswood Elementary (61% Latino); Rhodes Elementary (55% Latino); Schurz High School (81% Latino) and Elgin High School (51% Latino).  In addition, in our attempts to expand our reach, BBBSMC has launched a new school program at St. Ann’s Catholic (private) elementary school, which has a 97% Latino enrollment.

Furthermore, thanks to our new relationship with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, BBBSMC will be offering one-on-one mentoring at five club sites in the first phase of the partnership, two of which are located in predominantly Latino neighborhoods – Logan Square and Little Village. 

As illustrated above, BBBSMC understands that need and has pledged to develop and implement a targeted outreach program in the Hispanic/Latino community.  This we feel will provide for an increased number of youth (7-18 years of age) that will be presented with the life enriching opportunity that is one-on-one mentoring.  It is also important to note that BBBSMC strives to offer services in a manner that ensures match quality, child safety and cultural and linguistic sensitivity. 

If you would like to learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Hispanic Mentoring Initiative, please feel free to contact Everardo Franco, Director of Administration & Operations at franco@bbbschgo.org or by calling (312) 427-0637.

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