Big Brothers Big Sisters has received a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County (CFSLOCO). The grant will be used to support the enrollment and matching of potential volunteers with vulnerable, local children, ultimately helping youth achieve higher aspirations, greater confidence, better relationships, avoidance of risky behaviors, and educational success.
“A nationwide study conducted for Big Brothers Big Sisters by Harris Interactive found that adults, who were involved as children in our program, are better educated, wealthier and report stronger relationships with their spouses, children and friends,” said Big Brothers Big Sisters Executive Director, Anna Boyd-Bucy. “The Community Foundation is making that possible for more children this year.”
For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Most children they serve are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated. As a part of the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, they make meaningful, monitored friendships between adult volunteers and children. Funding provides for a system of ongoing evaluation and support that is proven by independent studies to help families by improving the odds that participating children will perform better in school, avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. For more information on volunteering or contributing to Big Brothers Big Sisters, call 805-781-3226, or log onto www.slobigs.org.
The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County is the public trust which meets the changing needs and interests of the community. In only 15 years the Community Foundation San Luis Obispo has given out more than $24 million in grants to assist nonprofit agencies. For more information on the CFSLOCO or any funds, call 805-543-2323 or log onto www.cfsloco.org.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is among 37 recipients, whose grants total $161,732. This year’s grant-making program is made possible through the generous support of the Foundation’s Community endowment and many donor funds held at the Foundation.