From Chief Executive Officer Chris Letsos:
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a special organization. Founded over 100 years ago, with nearly sixty years of dedicated service in Tampa Bay, our mission is to provide all young people with opportunity. Initially, we were created as an alternative to the juvenile justice system for troubled children; today, we work to build supportive, empowering, one-on-one relationships with mentors for more than 2,500 underserved young people each year.
Today, over 70 percent of our young people or “Littles” are from communities of color, nearly 75 percent live in low-income households and 85 percent come from single-parent families.
These are young people who need our help and our support—whom we need to ensure stay in school, get to college or a career and earn a degree or have the work experiences that will enable them to have productive, successful lives. It is not only a moral imperative: Tampa Bay will be successful and vibrant in the future, only if we are able to tap into the full potential of all our young people.
At Big Brothers Big Sisters, we have a long history of transforming lives through the power of mentorship. But we also know that we need to do more to empower every young person with a plan for their future. The key to ensuring that every “Little” has a meaningful plan for their future is a caring and engaged “BIG” mentor, whose impact will last a lifetime.
Currently, one in three young people will grow up without a mentor. Young people who meet regularly with a mentor are 40% more likely to graduate on time and 55% more likely to enroll in college.
With a mission to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth, Big Brothers Big Sisters’ vision is for all youth to achieve their full potential. In 2022, 99% of “Littles” had no involvement with the juvenile justice system, 98% were promoted to the next grade level, 97% maintained or improved their educational aspirations and 94% maintained or improved in academics.
Learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay here: www.www.bbbstampabay.org.
To invest in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, please call Chris Letsos at 813-539-4511 or via email at [email protected].