Partnership for a Jewish Center

Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Jewish Federation Join hands
Partnership will generate 'big social profits'

Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Jewish Federation share a common thread that yields a natural partnership. “The approach to the needs of single parents or at-risk children is shared by both organizations,” says Terry Kassel, a member of the Jewish Community and a Board Member with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle. ‘We both believe the care of our children is of the utmost importance. Jewish federations have a long history of partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as overseeing BBBS programs all over the country. The leadership of both organizations is excited about the opportunities to collaborate on services being provided to families in Durham and Chapel Hill.”

The initial components of the partnership include recruiting mentors from the Jewish community as well as referring children to BBBS who have been identified through Family Services as potentially benefiting from having a mentor. There are over 80 young boys on our waiting list in Durham in need of a one-to-one relationship with a caring adult.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) has been the nation’s premier name in youth mentoring for over 100 years, and we have been providing these services to at-risk youth ages 6-14 – primarily from low-income, single-parent homes – as the affiliate serving the Triangle for close to 10 years. The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle, Inc. (BBBST) is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with measurable impact. We accomplish this goal through the establishment of long-lasting and one-to-one mentoring relationships utilizing targeted program components to address the needs of our children.

Statistics show that the work of Big Brothers Big Sisters has a significant
impact on the children who participate, as they are significantly less likely to skip school, to begin using drinking or drugs, or to act out violently towards others.

In 2007, BBBS of the Triangle was recognized as a BBBS of America Gold Standard Award agency. BBBST has been selected as one of the best performers in revenue, children served, and quality of match relationships among almost 400 agencies nationwide. As a Gold Standard agency, BBBS of the Triangle is being honored for being within the top 5% of agencies in the nation at the national conference in St. Louis, Mo.

If you would like to volunteer your time, and share your life experiences to bring about positive change in another’s life, please contact the Jewish Federation at (919) 489-5335, BBBST at (919) 850-9772, or visit us at www.bbbstriangle.org. It only takes two hours a week to make a positive impact in the life of a child.