#GivingTuesday- National Movement to Make a Local Difference!

We received a surprise, one-time gift of $20,000 from the General Mills Foundation in honor of General Mills’ 150th Anniversary. The company invited employees worldwide to nominate nonprofits in their local communities for the one-time gift. BBBSEC’s relationship with General Mills has grown over the last several years to include both support from the company’s foundation for BBBSEC’s Site Based Mentoring Program and increased employee engagement. Throughout the year, employees from General Mills have volunteered time with BBBSEC’s Site Based Mentoring Program and Future Littles Waiting List Program to provide fun, hands on activities related to healthy living and engineering. A BIG thanks General Mills for all of the ways they support us!!!

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County is honored to celebrate Marilyn Gibson Young as our first Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree!  With a strong commitment to community, Marilyn began volunteering with the Stop the Violence Coalition in 2007 and has served as a Buffalo Peacemaker, Fundraising Committee Member and Vice Chairwoman. With a passion for working youth, and a heart that wanted to see a decrease in youth violence in the City of Buffalo, Marilyn brought together like-minded women over 5 years ago to create W. A.V.E -Women Against Violence Everywhere, an anti-violence organization that takes a proactive approach to help decrease youth violence by way of mentoring programs, events and activities. The organization focuses on violence issues impacting girls ages…

Unacceptable acts of violence like we have witnessed with Mr. George Floyd and current outbreaks makes our mission more important than ever.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County is honored to celebrate  Deborah Tangelder as this week’s featured Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree!  Deborah is the owner of The Perfect Gift & Clothing Boutique, located in historic Clarence Center. The storefront name, The Perfect Gift, was inspired by the Bible verse James 1:17 – “Every good and perfect gift comes from above.” Deb considers it a privilege to make a difference and that there is a purpose in her store that goes well beyond beautiful things. It’s about touching lives and hearts, and inspiring others. Since opening 14 years ago, she has used her business to help in multiple capacities as part of “The Perfect Gift Gives Back” project. From local causes, to schools, churches, and national…

Over 125 guests that included Bigs & Littles, staff and our Board Members and their families enjoyed our Annual Welcome Summer Picnic this year. A wonderful barbecue meal was prepared by Mr. G’s Catering for our guests. New this year was a visit from the BlueCross BlueShield Healthy Zone Cruiser. The cruiser was stocked with hula-hoops, paddleballs and other fun equipment for our Littles to enjoy that promote exercise and wellness. Our Bigs and Littles also had a great time participating in our annual picnic activity favorites like tug of war, carnival games and crafts. A special thank you to the volunteers from Bank of America who donated their time to run all of these activities!