Big Brothers Big Sisters is committed to bringing the power of mentoring to youth from traditionally underserved communities. Through the following specially designed programs, we are able to target specific populations and communities.

New York's Children of Promise

Research shows that 70% of children of children with one or more parents in prison will end up there themselves--unless they have positive adult intervention. There are over 2,000 children in Orange County who have a parent incarcerated. That is why mentoring children of prisoners is a key component of Big Brothers Big Sisters’ goal to reach more kids, especially those who may face significant risk factors.

New York's Children of Promise is a grant that provides resources to match children of an incarcerated parent with a caring adult.

We screen and match members of congregations with children who have been identified and enrolled by their custodial parent or guardian. An onsite volunteer coordinator provides a point of contact for ongoing volunteer support and information. Because the church, synagogue, or mosque is a common meeting ground, there are enhanced opportunities for group events involving matches, or for support and training activities for volunteers.

Hispanic Mentoring Initiative

Latinos make up about 14 percent of the nation’s population--that's over 44.3 million people, 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.

We are committed to serving the needs of Hispanic children and families across the country. The Hispanic Mentoring Initiative continues the Big Brothers Big Sisters tradition of outreach to all at-risk youth by emphasizing the connection with Hispanic communities and the recruitment of Latino volunteers and Littles.

Military Mentoring Initiative

Mentoring youth in need has been the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America since our founding over 100 years ago. The Big Brothers Big Sisters Military Mentoring Program responds to the needs of children in military families and continues our mentoring mission in their community by addressing the stresses which military life and deployed parents can bring into the lives of children. Members of the Armed Services and Reserve Unit Members, both male and female, are being deployed to distant lands for long periods of time, disrupting family life and causing stressful times for the adults and children in the family. The effects on families and on children have often been overwhelming.

Today, extended family members as well as mothers or fathers are asked to serve as caregivers for dependent children of deployed servicemen and servicewomen. At the same time there are military personnel and civilians who would like to reach out to these youth and give them a hand. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has joined forces with the TB Boone Pickens Foundation to help reach out to address the needs of these children who face the anxiety and separation from a parent by matching them with a caring adult from the local or military community.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County has been awarded a continuation grant to us to further develop our military partnership and reach out to children of deployed parents. Military Mentoring in one form or another has been a part of a significant number of Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies for years, and in some cases, decades. In Orange County, West Point Cadets have mentored our children since 1978. They now participate in both Post-based and School-based mentoring programs in Highland Falls. A Military Mentoring grant from the TB Boone Pickens Foundation has been awarded for the second year, helping us to form a collaborating partnership with 105th Air National Guard Air Life Wing Unit and the Marine Mag 49 Unit at Stewart and reach out to veteran and ROTC groups.

This funding will help to recruit more military mentors and reach the families of deployed children so that we can support their needs until they are reunited with their family member serving our country. At the same time there are military personnel and civilians who would like to reach out to these youth and give them a hand. Recent research by Civic Enterprises has found that 90% of veterans want to serve other veterans and military families and 86% want to serve at-risk youth. By using the recourses allotted to us by these grants, we will be able continue to improve the lives of many of those in our local military community.

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