History of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake
For over a century, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been helping change kids’ perspectives and giving them the opportunity to reach their potential. And we have over a century of volunteers, donors, and advocates just like you to thank.
It all started in 1904, when a young New York City court clerk named Ernest Coulter was seeing more and more boys come through his courtroom. More than 100 years later, Big Brothers Big Sisters remains true to our founders’ vision of bringing caring role models into the lives of children. And, today, Big Brothers Big Sisters currently operates in all 50 states—and in 12 countries around the world.
Here is a look at our agency's history, from the start:
| Date |
Event |
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1902
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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.
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1903
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Businessman Irvin F. Westheimer befriends a young boy in Cincinnati, OH; seeds are formed for the start of Big Brothers in Cincinnati.
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1904 to 1919
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Big Brother and Big Sister programs sprang up throughout the country.
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1919
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The Jewish Big Brothers League of Baltimore was founded.
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1950 to 1952
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League officers Herbert Myerberg, Joseph Hecht, and Meyer Levin brought together a group of community leaders and together they worked to establish an interfaith and inter-racial Big Brother organization.
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1952
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Big Brothers of Baltimore was incorporated in February.
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1962
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The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women opened a “Big Sistering” program in East Baltimore with the support of Mary Carter Smith, Sedonia Merritt, and Pastor Moses Smith of Zion Baptist Church, becoming Big Sisters - Little Sisters, Inc.
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1974
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Recognizing similar goals and a common approach, Big Brothers of Baltimore and Big Sisters – Little Sisters, Inc., merged to become Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Central Maryland, Inc. on July 1st.
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1974 to 2005
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Agency work expanded to include not only Baltimore City, but Maryland’s surrounding counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Harford, and Howard counties. |
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1976
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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maryland, Inc. was established to serve Maryland’s Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties. |
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1977
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Big Sisters International and Big Brothers Association merge, forming Big Brothers Big Sisters of America with 357 agencies.
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1983
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Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lower Eastern Shore was established as part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware and began serving Maryland’s Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties. The program left the Delaware agency and became an independent nonprofit in 2003. |
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1988
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The Maryland Mentoring Partnership, Inc. (originally as RAISE, Inc.) was established as an advocate, clearinghouse and expert resource for the advancement of youth mentoring statewide. Over time, MMP became a statewide leader in the mentoring movement, offering customized training for mentors as well as for building effective programs and technical assistance for these local partners.
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| 1998 |
Big Brothers Big Sisters International is founded.
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2005
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Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Central Maryland merged with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lower Eastern Shore and expanded the service area to now include Maryland’s Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties on July 1st and kept operating under both names in various parts of the service area.
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2007
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The b4 Students Foundation gifted its assets to Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Central Maryland, becoming the agency’s 1st workplace mentoring program for high school students on October 25th.
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| 2009 |
Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Central Maryland, Inc. merged with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maryland and expanded the service area to now include Maryland’s Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties on January 1st and kept operating under these names in various parts of the service area.
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| 2010 |
Recognizing similar goals and objectives for mentoring in Maryland, Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Central Maryland, Inc., and The Maryland Mentoring Partnership, Inc., joined forces on May 20th to become Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Maryland and the Maryland Mentoring Resource Center, Inc. -- but is doing business as Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Maryland Mentoring Partnership.
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2010
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Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced The Baltimore City Mentoring Initiative, the first of its kind between the Mayor’s Office and a private mentoring agency, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Maryland Mentoring Partnership.
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| 2011 |
On September 15, 2011, the Board of Directors changed the name of the agency to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake, Inc.
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