Big Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest, largest and most effective youth mentoring organization in the United States. We have been the leader in one-to-one youth service for more than a century, developing positive relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of young people. Big Brothers Big Sisters serves children, ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country - including yours.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters Mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with measurable impact.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago mission is to empower our next generation through life-changing, high impact one-to-one mentoring.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago vision is to be the Gold Standard in youth mentoring, serving "3,500" children through one-to-one mentoring relationships in our community-based and school-based programs.

We will serve the community based upon these guiding principles:

• Commitment to quality and safety
           - We are committed to one-to-one, safe and professionally 
              supported mentoring with proven, measurable outcomes.
• Dedicated to serving at-risk youth
             - In a world of scarce resources, we will focus on youth receiving
               free/reduced lunch, in a single parent environment and/or who 
               have a parent in the criminal justice system.
• Accountability to our stakeholders
             - We are committed to mutually beneficial relationships with our
               stakeholders   and to building and funding our capacity for 
               sustainable, quality growth.
• Focus on diversity
              - We will address our communities' racial, ethnic and gender 
                diversity in all aspects of how we operate of how we operate
• Culture of performance
              - We are a progressive organization that measures our impact 
                 and will recruit, build and retain the most  effective team and
             board.                                                              

Our Mentoring Works
National research has shown that positive relationships between youth and their Big Brothers and Big Sisters have a direct and measurable impact on children's lives. Little Brothers and Sisters are:

• More confident in their schoolwork performance
• Able to get along better with their families
• 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
• 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
• 52% less likely to skip school.¹

Read more about our proven impact »
Read more about us and our history »
Read more about our programs »

1 Tierney, J.P., Grossman, J.B., and Resch, N.L. (1995)   Making a Difference: An Impact Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters.  Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures