As one of the largest adult-to-child mentoring organizations in the nation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay currently serves over 1,200 youth in one-to-one relationships, with a service area encompassing 155 cities and towns throughout the Massachusetts Bay area.
In pursuing our mission we seek to provide as many professionally supported one-to-one adult child friendships as we are able to, consistent with standards we have established for match quality and outcomes. We focus the bulk of our efforts on the Big Brothers Big Sisters core model for mentoring (one child carefully matched with one adult, consistently supported by trained staff to ensure long match duration) and eschew short-term and group programs. Because of our 60 year history in Boston as a Big Brothers program (there is also an independent affiliate serving girls exclusively) our matches here are predominantly male.
Each year agency management establishes with the Board specific quantitative goals including the number of new matches to be made, the number of active matches that will be in place at the end of the year, and the number of children served during the year. We also establish many other metrics that are trackable indicators of quality and efficiency, to be compared against our own history and the experiences of other Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliates across the country. In addition we continue to enhance our tools for measuring outcomes.
We welcome the opportunity to answer questions about our effectiveness and results. Please address them in writing to Chief Operating Officer, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay, 75 Federal Street, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02110 or by phone to 617-542-9090.