Our First Thanksgiving

Our Bigs & Littles enjoyed a fun night of roller skating to some cool tunes at Depew Skating Center. Some of our Bigs & Littles were seasoned skaters, while several put on skates or roller blades for the first time ever! It was wonderful to see our matches work together to help those new to skating make it around the rink. In some cases, our Littles were a BIG help in keeping their Bigs staying upright! Of course, there were a few fancy skating moves, a few spills and lots of laughs! All would agree it was a great night full of fun and memories!

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County (BBBSEC) received a grant of $37,950 from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation to upgrade the organization’s outdated technology. Professional case management is critical to creating safe and long-lasting mentoring relationships. This technology upgrade strongly enhances the ability for BBBSEC’s professional case management to support and accurately document these relationships. “We were so very pleased to have the support of the foundation for a request that is very unique for an agency like ours,” shared Thomas Guagliardo, CEO of BBBSEC. “Our organization provides relationship support to hundreds of mentoring matches. To properly track these relationships and record outcomes, it’s very important we have a technology system that is up to date and efficient. Unfortunately, these are not the types…

In an effort to recruit more male mentors, we will be holding our first barbershop volunteer recruitment event “Grooming Men of the Future” on Saturday, September 28th from 11am – 3pm at three barbershops located in the City of Buffalo. The event is an opportunity for men to stop by in a relaxed & familiar setting to learn more about becoming a Big Brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters fraternity partner Alpha Phi Alpha. The barbershops opening their doors that day to BBBSEC are Styles of Man on East Delavan and the Signature Cutz locations on Main Street and Grant Street. Men who stop down that day will be entered to win a cut from a barber of their choice at each shop and into…

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County is honored to celebrate  Danielle Lewis as this week’s featured Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree!  Serving her community has been how Danielle has chosen to pay forward the mentorship and support she received while developing as a young person. Danielle recently completed a three-year term on the Compass House Board of Directors, serving as Vice Chair and the Annual Fundraiser Chair. In the latter role, she led the transition from a traditional fundraising dinner event to a weekend brunch with the goal of building a new generation of donors for the organization. Danielle is also a member of the Junior League of Buffalo and recently finished multiple terms on the Board of Directors, serving as the Secretary and then Executive Vice…

Over 150 guests, including Bigs & Littles, staff & the Board of Directors joined us for our Annual Welcome Summer Picnic at the Harlem Road Community Center.  Guests enjoyed a barbecue dinner, crafts and summer picnic favorites like tug of war and sack races.  In addition to celebrating the start of summer, we recognized our 5 Little Brothers & Sisters who graduated from high school this year and their Bigs who supported them along the way. During this presentation, we also announced some exciting news…The Big Brothers Big Sisters Daemen College Scholarship!  Our very own Big Sister Sandra Looker, a Daemen staff member in financial aid, shared that any Little graduating from high school, that attends Daemen College, will receive a $500.00 scholarship per year…