HISTORY
DEFENDING POTENTIAL SINCE 1904
BBBS MIAMI VALLEY'S HISTORY
Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami Valley began in 1958 as a pilot project of the Dayton Jaycee’s in which volunteers worked with boys referred from the Juvenile Court. In the 1960’s the organization expanded its services to boys in need outside the juvenile justice system and became a United Way agency. In the 1970’s services expanded to girls, the agency was named Big Brothers Big Sisters, and services reached into Preble and Greene Counties. In 2004 services expanded to Miami County.
Serving over 555 youth annually, we are the leading mentoring organization in the Miami Valley. We are one of 260 affiliates of Big Brothers Big Sisters nationwide, adhering to 22 service delivery and governance standards.
2,000,000+
CHILDREN SERVED
Over the past 10 years.
400,000
VOLUNTEER MENTORS AND FAMILIES
Engaged in the fight to defend the potential of children.
555
YOUTH SERVED
By BBBS Miami Valley each year across Montgomery, Miami, Preble, and Greene counties.
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF AMERICA
OVER 100 YEARS OF HISTORY
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.1917
The first national conference of Big Brothers and Big Sisters organizations is held in Grand Rapids, MI.1923
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
President Calvin Coolidge becomes patron of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation.1930
Six hundred delegates attend a Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation meeting in New York City.1934
President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt become patrons of Big Brothers and Big Sisters Federation.1948
Norman Rockwell produces the sketch that becomes a symbol for the Big Brothers Association.1951
The Big Brothers of the Year program begins, Associate Justice Tom Clark of the U.S. Supreme Court and J. Edgar Hoover are named.1958
Big Brothers Association is chartered by Congress and the Dayton Jaycees start a pilot program to pair volunteers with boys referred from juvenile court.1960
Incorporated locally as a 501c3 and named Big Brothers of Montgomery County, serving only boys.1965
Expanded locally into Greene and Preble Counties and became Big Brother Association of Greater Dayton.1970
Big Sisters International is incorporated.1973
We had an annual budget of $51,000 - in today's dollars, that's $294,925 adjusting for inflation. Compare that to our budget of $980,000 in 2019!1977
Big Sisters International and Big Brothers Association merge, forming Big Brothers Big Sisters of America with 357 agencies.1978
Began serving girls locally and became Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Dayton.1984
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America occupies its 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.1995
Public/Private Ventures Study on Big Brothers Big Sisters Community-Based Mentoring shows measurable, positive results on youth who have a Big Brother or Sister, seminal research in the field of youth mentoring.1997
President William J. Clinton holds Volunteer Summit in Philadelphia; Big Brothers Big Sisters plays key role.1998
Big Brothers Big Sisters International is founded.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 and locally expanded into Miami County and became Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Miami Valley.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.2010
President Obama holds a White House National Mentoring Month Ceremony; Big Brothers Big Sisters attends and plays a key role.2015
Awarded Small Agency of the Year Award by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and Quality Achievement Award in the same year that we moved our local headquarters to downtown Dayton.2016
Awarded the Quality Achievement Award for the second year in a row.2018
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America launched a major update to their brand and we became Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami Valley.
BBBS MIAMI VALLEY
NEWSROOM
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