Mission
Our mission is to help children in need reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships.
With 50 years of service and experience, our goals are clear:
- Strengthen the social, emotional, cognitive and behavioral competencies of children living in poverty;
- Improve the children’s commitment to school and to academic achievement;
- Improve the children’s understanding of healthy standards of behavior;
- Improve each child’s resilience, self-efficacy and sense of the future; and
- Strengthen each child’s sense of self-worth.
Executive Staff
John Malcolm President/CEO (213) 213-2429 Anja Kloch Vice President, Development (213) 213-2407 Kenna Ellis Director of Operations (213) 213-2424 Wanda Shrewsberry Director of Human Resources (213) 213-2406 Board Associates The Board Associates is a fundraising committee made up of young corporate professionals who support the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire (BBBSLAIE). These volunteers support the ageney through two main channels: hosting mixers throughout the Los Angeles area with other young professionals and providing direct volunteer support for match events that provide social and education experiences for the youth and adult mentors. Both channels have been successful due to individual donations, corporate sponsors, growing awareness for the cause and finding people interested in becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister. For more information on how you can become involved with the Board Associates, please check out their website at: www.boardassociates.orgHistory Walt Disney and Meredith Willson founded Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles in 1955 to help ensure the well being of boys growing up without fathers in Los Angeles. The Big Sisters Program was founded in 1972 under the umbrella of a public social service agency. In 1978, the program became Big Sisters of Los Angeles (BSLA), a separate, non-profit organization.
In order to strengthen and expand services to significantly more disadvantaged youth, the two agencies merged on July 1, 2001, to become “Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire.” Today, BBBSLAIE is one of the largest affiliates of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, based on the number of children and youth served, the number of volunteer mentors, and the size of our service area (Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties).
Children We Serve
In the past year, 1,670 at-risk children and youth (aged 6-16) from Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Riverside counties were matched with carefully-screened, professionally supported adult volunteer mentors.
In 2009 we are on track to serve upwards of 1,500 children and youth.
- 90% of the children and youth are living in families whose annual household incomes are at or below the Federal poverty level. They live in pockets of poverty throughout L.A. County and the Inland Empire but primarily in the areas of South Los Angeles, Metro Los Angeles, and the San Fernando Valley.
- More than 75% are from single parent or single guardian households.
- 80% of the children are African-American, Latino/a, or Asian Pacific Islander.
- 30% are referred to the program through the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services; 10% through the L.A.U.S.D., 20% through community-based organizations and 40% through a parent/guardian.
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Programs
Children and youth are given the option of participating in one of the following programs:
Our Community Based Mentoring Program matches one child with one caring adult mentor, and supports the relationship with trained case managers called Match Support Specialists. The volunteer mentor, the child, and his or his parent/guardian make a one year commitment to the relationship. Currently BBBSLAIE matches average 30 months, exceeding the national average of 21 months by over 40 percent. The matches meet at least twice a month for 2-4 hours, either on their own or when they attend recreational, educational and community service activities organized by the agency. In addition to the “army” of volunteers who come forward from the community, BBBSLAIE has partnerships with Sony Entertainment, CSFB, and The Walt Disney Company, and many other corporations, which encourage and support employee involvement in this program.
Through our School Based Program, volunteers offer individualized time and attention on a consistent basis to children in public elementary and middle schools throughout Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. Teachers identify children who can benefit most from an extra caring adult in their lives. Volunteers make a one year commitment, and meet with the child for one hour once a week. While a mentor may spend time helping the child with schoolwork, the focus is on providing friendship and emotional support. Typically this involves reading for pleasure, playing educational games, or just sitting and talking.
Current School Partners include:
- Braddock Drive Elementary (Culver City)
- W. Claude Hudnall Elementary School (Inglewood)
- Camino Nuevo Charter Academy (Los Angeles)
- The Accelerated School (Los Angeles)
- 20th Street Elementary School (Los Angeles)
- Theodore Roosevelt Elementary (San Gabriel)
Impact on Children and Youth
A recent independent evaluation of BBBSLAIE confirmed that the youth who participate in our programs are:
- 99% more likely to avoid adolescent pregnancy;
- 84% more likely to experience higher levels of self-esteem;
- 76% less likely to use alcohol and drugs or to engage in gangs and violence;
- 62% more aware of educational and career options;
- 57% more likely to improve their academic performance; and
- 53% more likely to experience improved relationships with their peers and family members.
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The Need for Mentoring in Los Angeles
Los Angeles County is considered the ""poverty capital of the nation."" In no other county of the state are more children living in poverty and without both parents than in this county. According to the U.S. Census (2000):
- Nearly one in three or 30.5% of the County’s children live in poverty (778,303 children).
- There are at least 613,087 at-risk youth who have one or more of the risk factors for delinquency, academic failure, gang involvement, early pregnancy, and intergenerational poverty including:
- Living in a family which is living below the poverty line;
- Living in a home with only one parent;
- Living with a parent who does not have steady employment;
- Living in a household in which the head of household is a high school drop out;
- Living in a household in which the children are not covered by health insurance.
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, these are the factors that directly influence children’s prospects for future success. An analysis in 2003 by BBBSLAIE showed that current mentoring programs in Los Angeles County are reaching only 3% of these high-risk youth.
Still, the demand for our services significantly exceeds the financial resources we have in place to serve these children.
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