Big Brothers Big Sisters Celebrates Donors During National Volunteer Week

PHILADELPHIA, April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- In these tough economic times, Big Brothers Big Sisters is recognizing National Volunteer Week by celebrating donors as well as volunteers.  Funding makes it possible for the country's largest donor-supported network of volunteer mentors of youth to carefully match the children in their program with adult mentors and provide the ongoing support that sustains those matches and helps vulnerable kids beat the odds.

Throughout the National Volunteer Week, April 18 – 25, Big Brothers Big Sisters national staff members will make phone calls to donors, personally thanking them for their support.  The organization's 382 agencies, serving all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Guam, will also recognize their donors and volunteers locally.  

"Donors are just as important as volunteers in our formula for success," said president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Karen J. Mathis.  "Independent studies find that kids in our program are more likely to succeed in and out of school. Donations make it possible for us to provide staff, systems and standards that make those successful results possible."

Big Brothers Big Sisters serves 255,000 children, primarily those of single, low-income and incarcerated parents, and has proven to be successful in helping kids break negative cycles.  According to a study conducted by Public/Private Ventures, children in Big Brothers Big Sisters programs are 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs, 27% less likely to begin using alcohol and 52% less like to skip school.  The study also found that Little Brothers and Sisters are less likely to lie to their parents and more likely to earn better grades in school.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters

Big Brothers Big Sisters helps vulnerable children beat the odds.  The organization depends on donations to help conduct background checks on volunteers to ensure child safety; and provide ongoing support for children, families and volunteers to build and sustain long-lasting relationships, key to successful mentoring.  Big Brothers Big Sisters is proven by independent research to improve children's odds for succeeding in school, behaving nonviolently, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and breaking negative cycles.  Headquartered in Philadelphia and with nearly 400 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves more than a quarter million children. Learn how you can change how children grow up in America by going to BigBrothersBigSisters.org.

SOURCE Big Brothers Big Sisters