National Mentoring Month Spotlight – Jack’s Big Brother Experience
In his own words, Big Brother Jack reflects on his journey as a Big to Little, Gilly. Let’s hear from him directly below! When I made the decision to become a Big Brother it was because I felt the need to give back in some way and to make a tangible difference. I’ll never forget […]
Waiting Little of the Month: Meet Kobe
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands is making a real difference in the lives of more than 300 youth on the Cape, Martha’s Vineyard and Plymouth region. There is a continued need for volunteers to provide more than 40 children with a caring and invested adult mentor. Name: Little Brother Kobe […]
Match Feature: Meet Karen and Rosela!
Mentoring a child has many benefits, including providing youth with the mental, emotional, and academic support they need to reach their fullest potential. Mentoring relationships between Bigs and Littles also help foster greater respect, understanding and celebration of each other’s differences. At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts, we do our best to match […]
Waiting Little of the Month: Meet Colin
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands is making a real difference in the lives of more than 300 youth on the Cape, Martha’s Vineyard and Plymouth region. There is a continued need for volunteers to provide more than 40 children with a caring and invested adult mentor. Name: Little Brother Colin […]
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts Names Brad Dixon Big Brother of the Year Bellingham Resident is a 9-Year Volunteer for the Youth Mentoring Program
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts (BBBSEM) has named Brad Dixon, 67, of Bellingham, the agency’s 2022 Big Brother of the Year. He is one of over 3,000 volunteers, referred to as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, for the nonprofit who are committed to developing caring and life-altering one-to-one mentoring relationships with children. Dixon’s […]
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts Launches Stonehill College Campus-Based Program College Students Mentor Youth from Brockton Housing Authority, New Heights Charter School and the Brockton Boys & Girls Club
BOSTON –Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts (BBBSEM), the state’s leading one-to-one youth mentoring organization, has launched a new campus-based program with Stonehill College. Undergraduates are now meeting with youth from Brockton Housing Authority, New Heights Charter School and the Brockton Boys & Girls Club, giving them critical academic, social and emotional support as […]
Our Gender Diversity and Inclusion Journey
Our Gender Diversity and Inclusion Journey The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Committee here at BBBSEM is an employee-led committee that provides education, advocacy, and opportunities to ensure that we are building an agency that is reflective of our program participants, staff members, and the diverse world we live in. We aspire to strengthen, […]
Dorchester’s Daphne Lopes Represents Parents and Caregivers during Big Brothers Big Sisters of America ® Virtual Parent Advisory Panel
Last month, Daphne Lopes, a single mother living in Dorchester, represented parents and caregivers during Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s virtual Parent Advisory Panel. During the event, she spoke about her experience as a parent to a Little in BBBSEM. Lopes became an active member of our community when she registered her son Aren, […]
LGBTQ+ Books and Resources
Below we’ve put together some resources, events, and more celebrating our LGBTQ+ community. Check them out! BOOKS BOOKS FOR TEENS https://www.bpl.org/we-are-pride/ https://haverhillpl.org/transgender-awareness-week/ https://haverhillpl.org/pride-ya-comics/ https://haverhillpl.org/pride-teen-fiction-booklist/ BOOKS FOR KIDS https://www.weareteachers.com/books-with-lgbt-characters/ https://welcomingschools.org/resources/childrens-books-lgbtq-inclusive RESOURCES Resources for talking about Pride with kids: 5 tips to explain Pride month vivvi.com Talking about Pride with Kids Care.com Resources for Teens Local LBGTQ+ Organizations: […]
2021 Made a BIG Impact
2021 was another challenging yet incredible year of growth and perseverance for our Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts community. Our staff members worked tirelessly to make more than 800 new matches virtually while supporting our nearly 3000 existing matches. Our thousands of volunteers, the Big Brothers and Big Sisters who support youth through […]
Celebrating Black History Month
Movies and Books for You and Your Mentee At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts, we are excited to be celebrating Black History Month as an agency and we invite our Bigs and Littles to celebrate as well! Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the center of our values at the agency, and we […]
Match Highlight: Meet Geo and Tom (National Mentoring Month)
January is National Mentoring Month, an annual designation observed to raise awareness of mentoring in its various forms and to inspire new individuals to become mentors. This month we are highlighting a Big and Little, Tom and Geo, who truly encompass the definition of a great match. Geo, Little Brother: Q: Describe the first time […]
Remembering the Life of a Mentor, Scott Hamilton
Embrace life. Be vulnerable. Be kind. Life lessons from an amazing man, advocate, and friend. by Chelsea Parham 5 and a half years ago I had the sincere honor to meet and begin working with Scott Hamilton. By the time I met Scott, he had already been a Big Brother for over 5 years, ridden […]
Graduation Spotlight: Meet Christian and Austin
Christian and Austin have been matched for over 10 years! The two of them talked through their 10 year match at a recent outing in the Blue Hills! They reflected on their first meeting right before Austin’s 8th birthday and now their celebration of Austin’s high school graduation. CONGRATULATIONS, AUSTIN! Let’s first hear from Big […]
A Proud BBBSMB Presence at the Boston Pride Festival
We asked Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay staff member, Jamie Lefebvre for a recap from our first year at the Boston Pride Festival. Thanks Jamie for organizing our agency’s presence at the festival and sharing your thoughts about the day! Why was it important that BBBSMB have a presence at the Boston Pride […]
How To Survive Grad School While Working AND Volunteering by Ashley Felix
There are many Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies around the world—each doing amazing work to empower youth in their communities—but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better team than the one we have here at BBBSMB. We might be a tad bit biased, but there’s no denying how awesome each and every one of our team […]
Staff Spotlight: Emily Morrison, Mentor 2.0 Program Ambassador (AmeriCorp)
Mentor2.0 is a technology-enhanced one-to-one mentoring program that provides transformative one-to-one support for low-income and first-generation high school students to prepare them for high school success, college matriculation and workforce readiness. We currently work with Boston Green Academy (BGA) in Brighton and the Edward M. Kennedy Academy of Health Careers in the Fenway. This week we caught up […]
Staff Spotlight: Rachel Benjamin, Mentor 2.0 Program Ambassador (AmeriCorp)
Mentor2.0 is a technology-enhanced one-to-one mentoring program that provides transformative one-to-one support for low-income and first-generation high school students to prepare them for high school success, college matriculation and workforce readiness. We currently work with Boston Green Academy (BGA) in Brighton and the Edward M. Kennedy Academy of Health Careers in the Fenway. This week we caught up […]
Staff Spotlight: Jazzmyn Rodrigues, Mentor 2.0 Program Coordinator
Mentor2.0 is a technology-enhanced one-to-one mentoring program that provides transformative one-to-one support for low-income and first-generation high school students to prepare them for high school success, college matriculation and workforce readiness. We currently work with Boston Green Academy (BGA) in Brighton and the Edward Kennedy Academy of Health Careers in the Fenway. This week we caught up with […]
Staff Spotlight: Jamie Lefebvre, Match Support Coordinator
There are many moving parts here at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay that contribute to the success of our matches. None of the work we do would be possible without the collaborative effort of each department, however, many of our matches are likely most familiar with their professionally trained Match Support Coordinators. Their routine […]
Staff Spotlight: Cat Rojo Ianetta, Assistant Director of Fundraising Events
With Big Night—our biggest fundraising event of the year—on the horizon we thought this was the perfect opportunity to chat with Cat Rojo Ianetta, the Assistant Director of Fundraising Events here at BBBSMB, about what it takes to produce a successful event, the most rewarding aspects of her job, and what makes Big Night so special. […]
Staff Spotlight: Meg Campbell
There are people that join AmeriCorps for one year of service and then there’s our very own Meg Campbell, who signs on for a second year of service to leave an even bigger impact on the world around her. From a volunteer opportunity in a small town in South Africa to a second year of […]
#GivingTuesday Staff Spotlight: Chris Masalsky
You ate all of the turkey and stuffing that you could handle on Thanksgiving day, you bought presents—for yourself and others—on Black Friday, found awesome deals online on Cyber Monday… and finally, today is the biggest day of all—#GivingTuesday is here! #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and […]
Staff Spotlight: Dan Vatnick, Enrollment Coordinator Extraordinaire
There are several departments here at BBBSMB, each with their own key functions that drive match success. This week, we spoke with Dan Vatnick from the Enrollment team—the magical match makers—about his work prior to joining our organization, what an average day on the Enrollment team is like, his experiences as a Big in our […]