Partner with us for something big!

Our Impact Community Based Mentoring

We’ve always known we were making a positive impact on children and empowering them to succeed. Two nationwide studies confirmed it for us.  Each time Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake pairs a child with a role model, we start something incredible: a one-to-one relationship built on trust and friendship that can blossom into a future of unlimited potential.  And thanks to the first-ever nationwide impact study of a mentoring organization, we have the facts to prove it.

The Study

Public/Private Ventures, an independent Philadelphia-based national research organization, looked at over 950 boys and girls from eight Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country selected for their large size and geographic diversity. This study is widely considered to be foundational to the mentoring field in general and to Big Brothers Big Sisters Community-Based program in particular.

The Results

• 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
• 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
• 52% less likely to skip school
• 37% less likely to skip a class
• 33% less likely to hit someone

They also found that the Littles were more confident of their performance in schoolwork and getting along better with their families.

“We have known all along that Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mentoring has a long-lasting, positive effect on children’s confidence, grades, and social skills,” affirms Karen J. Mathis, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s President and CEO, “and the results of this impact study scientifically confirm that belief.”

“These dramatic findings are very good news, particularly at a time when many people contend that ‘nothing works’ in reaching teenagers,” said Gary Walker, then-President of Public/Private Ventures. “This program suggests a strategy the country can build on to make a difference, especially for youth in single-parent families.”

The Big Brothers Big Sisters Match

According to the study, our one-to-one matches are the driving force behind making an impact on children. A Big Brothers Big Sisters’ match is carefully administered and held to the strictest standards. Agency staff strives for matches that are not only safe and well suited to each child’s needs, but also harmonious and built to last. The entire matching process, from the initial screening to the final pairing—and beyond—is made possible by your financial support.

But don’t just think of us as simply matchmakers. We provide ongoing support and supervision to the Big, the Little, and the Little’s family.  We offer training and advice to help ensure that the match is working for everyone involved.  It is this web of support that helps maximize the likelihood that a Big Brothers Big Sisters relationship will thrive.

The study found that Big Brothers Big Sisters’ matches consistently spend more time together, and continue as a match for longer periods, than those in other mentoring programs which Public/Private Ventures has studied.

“In mentoring programs without this infrastructure, we have found that relationships evaporate too soon for effects to be possible,” said Walker.

The Impact

According to the study, Big Brothers Big Sisters programs were found to “focus less on specific problems after they occur, and more on meeting youths’ most basic developmental needs.”

The matches that were observed shared everyday activities: eating out, playing sports or attending sports events, going to movies, sightseeing, and just hanging out together.

But what mattered to the children were not the activities. It was the fact that they had a caring adult in their lives. Because they had someone to confide in and to look up to, they were, in turn, doing better in school and at home. And at a time in their lives when even small choices can change the course of their future, the Littles were also avoiding violence and substance abuse.

In addition to the lives of Littles being changed for the better, the impact is contagious.

"When Little Brothers and Little Sisters feel good about themselves," said Mathis, "they can positively impact their friends and families, their schools, and their communities. And as this important study has shown, these young people believe in themselves because a Big Brother or Big Sister believed in them.”

Public/Private Ventures, a national research organization with more than 30 years of experience in studying child development and social service issues, conducted the independent research.

The study was funded by the Lilly Endowment, the Commonwealth Fund, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and an anonymous donor.

Read the full study >

Our Impact School Based Mentoring

The Study

To rigorously address the question of whether School-Based Mentoring (SBM) can improve the lives of youth, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) and Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) partnered to undertake a two-part evaluation of the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) SBM program.  The first study was conducted by BBBSA and examined how these programs are implemented.  The second study, summarized below, is a national, random assignment impact evaluation conducted by P/PV.

Methodology

For this study, youth were randomly assigned to participate in the BBBS SBM program or to a control group for the 15-month study period. This strategy allowed P/PV to confidently attribute any differences detected between Littles and their non-mentored peers to their involvement in the BBBS SBM program. The study period included all of the 2004/2005 school year and the first half of the 2005/2006 school year.  A total of 1,139 youth participated in the study, of which 565 were assigned to receive a school-based mentor.

 Year One Impacts

 The study found that, relative to their non-mentored peers, Littles showed improvements in the following teacher-reported outcomes:

• Overall academic performance, specifically in:
  • Science, and
  • Written and oral language
• Quality of assignments turned in,
• Number of assignments turned in (homework and in-class assignments), and
• Serious school infractions (including principal’s office visits, fighting and suspensions).

 They also improved in the following youth-reported outcomes:

• Scholastic efficacy (feeling more competent academically), and
• Skipping school, which teachers confirmed by reporting that fewer Littles had an unexcused absence in the four weeks prior to the survey.

 Littles were also significantly more likely than their non-mentored peers to report an important additional benefit:

• The presence of an adult in their life who provided them with the types of supports BBBS strives to provide participants—someone they look up to and talk to about personal problems, who encourages them to do their best, cares about what happens to them and influences the choices they make.

 Year Two Impacts

The study found that Littles who experienced  more that one year of high-quality relationships received bigger benefits from program participation than Littles in shorter or weaker relationships.  Youth in shorter term matches experienced few sustained impacts.  Thus longer matches and closer relationships are associated with stronger impacts.

Program Quality Findings

P/PV also found that some program practices can influence impacts.  The following is a list of program practices that appear to affect relationship quality, continuation to the following school year, and/or match length:

Match Length—Longer lasting matches had greater impacts than those matched for less time.

Relationship Quality—The strength of the relationship between Bigs and Littles was related to the level and number of impacts.  In general, youth in higher quality relationships had greater and stronger impacts and youth in weaker quality relationships had limited impacts.

Volunteer Training—Matches that received training reported stronger relationships and were more likely to continue their match from school year one to school year two.

Match Support—Volunteers who were satisfied with the match support they received were more positive about their match relationship and were more likely to continue their match to the following school year.

Summer Contact—Matches that kept in contact during the summer were of higher quality and were more likely to continue to the following school year.

 Public/Private Ventures, a national research organization with more than 30 years of experience in studying child development and social service issues, conducted the independent research.

To read the full study, click here.