Starting Something since 1981
Help a child achieve success in life!
We are about what we achieve in youth outcomes and what it leads to – Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region gives children facing adversity a better foundation for life success by providing educational and life guidance.
We have been the area’s leader in establishing and supporting “one-to-one” mentoring relationships — or friendships — since 1981. We serve between 700 and 1,000 children annually throughout Dauphin, Cumberland, Lebanon and Perry Counties. And our Bigs (volunteers), our Littles (children) and our families are as diverse as the colors of a rainbow. They come from all walks of life and hail from Harrisburg to Hershey, Shippensburg to Carlisle, Lebanon to Palmyra, Lancaster to Lititz, and West Perry to West Enola. But what they all have in common is a desire to be part of something big and to bring a little success into their own lives or the life of a child. But it’s not just children that we’re reaching – our volunteers say they get as much if not more out of the friendships as do the children.
As an affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, we have both the national and local research – as well as the input from the children we serve and volunteers we work with – that proves our services work. Children who have a Big Brother or Sister do better in school, get along better with peers and adults, are less likely to skip school or initiate drug or alcohol use, and are less likely to hit others than their peers who do not have mentors.
Across the country and locally Big Brothers Big Sisters is the gold standard for mentoring. Our program is both different and successful because Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a Match Support Specialist for each and every match in our program. Our matches are effective because professional staff ensure that the match relationships are safe, rewarding and reach their fullest potential. We know that children matched in relationships that last more than one year have the most positive outcomes. Our match length average is three years, well above the national average.