For over a century, Big Brothers and Big Sisters have helped children reach their potential through professionally supported one-to-one relationships with proven results.
In 1904, a young New York City court clerk named Ernest Coulter was seeing more and more boys come through his courtroom. He recognized that caring adults could help many of these kids stay out of trouble, and he set out to find volunteers. That marked the beginning of the Big Brothers movement. By 1916, Big Brothers had spread to 96 cities across the country.
At around the same time, the members of a group called Ladies of Charity were befriending girls who had come through the New York Children’s Court. That group would later become Catholic Big Sisters.
Both groups continued to work independently until 1977, when Big Brothers of America and Big Sisters International joined forces and became Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
More than a century later, Big Brothers Big Sisters remains true to our founders’ vision of bringing caring mentors into the lives of children. Big Brothers Big Sisters currently operates in all 50 states … and in 35 countries around the world!
1902 | Ernest Coulter, court clerk, helps organize the first New York Children’s Court; Ladies of Charity, later Catholic Big Sisters of New York, starts to befriend girls who come before the New York Children’s Court | |
1903 | Businessman Irvin F. Westheimer befriends a young boy in Cincinnati, OH; seeds are formed for the start of Big Brothers in Cincinnati | |
1904 | Ernest Coulter founds the organized Big Brothers movement by obtaining 39 volunteers, who each agree to befriend one boy | |
1912 | The New York Times reports Big Brothers activity in 26 cities | |
1914 | Ernest Coulter embarks on nationwide lecture tour on behalf of Big Brothers; planning begins for a national Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization | |
1916 | Big Brothers work spreads to 96 cities | |
1917 | The first national conference of Big Brothers and Big Sisters organizations is held in Grand Rapids, MI., leading to the later organization of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation | |
1923 | Big Sisters work geared to African-Americans is underway in Louisville, KY and Brooklyn, NY; | |
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., becomes treasurer of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation; | ||
First motion picture based on a Big and Little Brother relationship is released by Paramount Pictures | ||
1925 | Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation holds its first conference for agency executives; | |
President Calvin Coolidge becomes patron of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation | ||
1951 | Big Brothers of the Year Program begins, Associate Justice Tom Clark of the U.S. Supreme Court and J. Edgar Hoover are named | |
1952 | Ernest Coulter dies | |
1958 | Big Brothers Association is chartered by Congress | |
1969 | Big Brothers Association grows to 150 affiliated agencies | |
1970 | Big Sisters International is incorporated | |
1971 | Big Brothers Association reports 208 affiliates | |
1977 | Big Sisters International and Big Brothers Association merge, forming Big Brothers Big Sisters of America with 357 agencies | |
1970’s | Big Brothers of Vineland serves boys referred by family court and mentored by lawyers, police officers, doctors, and prominent business professionals | |
1982 | Big Brothers of Vineland becomes Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland County, serving boys and girls ages 7 through 18 throughout Cumberland county that were primarily referred by a relative or teacher | |
1984 | Big Brothers Big Sisters of America occupies its new headquarters at 230 North 13th Street in Philadelphia | |
1985 | Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is honored with a commemorative stamp by the Postmaster General | |
1986 | Big Brothers Big Sisters begins long range governance planning process: creating standards and required procedures | |
1989 | Public/Private Ventures begins study to gauge impact on youth of having a Big Brother or Sister | |
1994 | Big Brothers Big Sisters kicks off Project 21st Century to develop mission and vision statements, goals and strategies; | |
“How-To” mentoring training developed | ||
1995 | Public/Private Ventures Study research shows measurable, positive results on youth who have a Big Brother or Sister, seminal research in the field of youth mentoring; | |
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland County launches the first School-Based mentoring program | ||
1997 | President William J. Clinton holds Volunteer Summit in Philadelphia; Big Brothers Big Sisters plays key role; | |
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland County occupies its new headquarters at 1944 East Landis Avenue, Vineland, New Jersey | ||
1998 | Big Brothers Big Sisters International is founded | |
2000 | Big Brothers Big Sisters in Schools becomes a core program. Partnerships with schools and volunteer-rich organizations such as churches, colleges, employers, and fraternities are emphasized. The Amachi Big Brothers Big Sisters program which matches children of prisoners with church congregants is piloted; | |
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland County launches the first High School Mentoring program | ||
2001 | Brand New Thinking marketing program focuses on the shared experiences to broaden volunteer appeal. The tagline “Little Moments, Big Magic” is developed | |
2002 | The Service Delivery System, consistent approach for providing services to children at all agencies is created to increase Big Brothers Big Sisters’ ability to offer quality services to greater numbers of youth | |
2003 | President George W. Bush announces three-year $450 million mentoring initiative in his State of the Union Address | |
2004 | Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrates 100 years of serving America’s youth; | |
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland County launches Mentoring Children of Prisoners program | ||
2005 | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland County expands service area to include Salem County and changes name to reflect the service area | |
2006 | First Lady Laura Bush stars in a public service announcement to recruit volunteers across the nation | |
2007 | Public/Private Ventures conducts a study on Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring program, reinforcing the value of strong, long-lasting relationships and leading to program enhancements; | |
In a Super Bowl first, CBS, the NFL and Big Brothers Big Sisters joined forces to create a public service announcement that features the two coaches whose teams are competing in the game. Roughly 90 million viewers tuned in to watch the game and see Indianapolis Colts’ Coach Tony Dungy and Coach Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears underscore the importance of mentoring by referencing their real-life mentoring relationship. | ||
2008 | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties receives national recognition from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Among 400 agencies, this agency receives The Gold Standard Award for pace setting performance in quality growth and increased revenue, in the small agency category the Board of Trustees were finalists for Board of the year, and our President/CEO receives CEO of the Year Award. | |
2010 | President Obama holds a White House National Mentoring Month Ceremony; Big Brothers Big Sisters attends and plays a key role. | |
2011 | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties recruits Veteran’s as Mentors for School –Based mentoring program | |
2012 | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties celebrates 30 years of serving youth in Cumberland & Salem Counties.Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties receives the Gold Standard Award for being a top performer among small agencies. Only 13 out of 334 agencies were chosen and the award was based on the agency’s 2013 results. | |
2013 | President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties, Donna Bennett gets inducted into the Cumberland County Women’s Hall of Fame for her years of service in bettering the lives of local children. | |
2014 | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties receives the Pinnacle Award for being a top performer among small agencies. Only 4 out of 330 agencies were chosen and the award was based on the agency’s 2014 results. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties receives the Board of the Year Award at the Big Brothers Big Sisters National Conference. |
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2015 | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties receives the Quality Award. The agency was 1 of 43 out of 309 agencies to receive this award. | |
2016 | President/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties Donna Bennett receives the Non Profit Sector South Jerseyan of the Year Award at the 15th Annual Walter and Leah Rand Awards and Scholarship Dinner. |
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2017 | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland & Salem Counties recruits Volunteers for “Bigs in Blue” and “Generation to Generation” programs. |
All youth achieve their full potential.
Create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.