Fore The Children Golf Tournament a BIG Success!

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County was one of nine local organizations recently awarded a Mentoring Matters grant through the First Niagara Foundation. The awards were announced during a ceremony at the First Niagara Center on October 3rd that included First Niagara executives, local officials and Buffalo Sabres Coach, Ted Nolan. First Niagara employee and BBBSEC Big Sister, Patty Szwed, shared her positive experience as a mentor to her 11 year old Little Sister Reina during the event. The two will be matched for one-year at the end of October! Launched in 2007 by First Niagara, Mentoring Matters supports programs that help children improve their grades and school attendance, enhance their self-esteem, avoid the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and have a better opportunity…

Our 2017 Art of Friendship Note Cards are printed & ready to purchase! Each set has 5 cards and 100% of the $5.00 purchase price benefits BBBS of Erie County! You can purchase at any of Fowler’s Chocolates six retail shops located in Buffalo, Cheektowaga, East Aurora, Hamburg and Tonawanda. They make a wonderful holiday gift for family, friends, teachers, neighbors or a host/hostess! The Art of Friendship is generously sponsored by Ingram Micro.  

This summer 34 Little Brothers & Little Sisters attended Tim Horton Children’s Camp Kentahaten in Campbellsville, Kentucky. For almost all of the kids, this 10 day camp was their first time traveling out of state and participating in an array of amazing outdoor activities. Just imagine the fun and memories made in over a week of ropes courses, kayaking, swimming, disc golf and beach volleyball. In addition to the activities, the kids come back excited about the relationships created with their camp counselors and the new friends they have made from around the country! The funds to provide this wonderful experience are raised through year round events coordinated by the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation, local store owners & of course, the patrons who support their…

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County and Media Sponsor, Kiss 98.5 are excited to honor Julie Signorille as our first Women Who Move the City Wednesday Honoree! Julie currently serves on Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County’s Board of Directors and is active in making connections for Big Brothers Big Sisters throughout the community. She is always looking to forge partnerships and seeking opportunities that enhance the quality of mentoring the program provides to children facing adversity. Julie is also a member of the WNY Women’s Foundation Board of Directors and Co-Chair of the Family Sustaining Jobs Committee. This committee strives to reduce barriers to single, female heads of households’ seeking education and employment. A current initiative of the committee includes a partnership…

A BIG thanks to the General Mills Foundation & the employees involved in the Buffalo Community Action Council for the generous grant of $5,000 for our Site Based Mentoring Program (SBM).  In addition to support as a funding partner, we’ve rom General Mills host activities for the children and mentors in our program. Recently, our kids enjoyed two wonderful opportunities with the General Mills in the Community volunteers.  A group hosted an afternoon of fun activities with the kids in the SBM program at Enterprise Charter School. Events included building marshmallow catapults and then playing a game to try to catch the flying marshmallows. The kids had a blast using math/science skills and of course, shooting marshmallows! We also had a great time with our friends…

With the generous support of our community, the lives of over 400 children were impacted by a Big Brother or Big Sister in 2016. It is our pleasure to share with you our Annual Report that includes: A Special Story about a 10-Year Friendship Update on our expanding High School Bigs Mentoring Program Recap of our Special Events 2016 Financial Statement January 2016 – December 2016 Program Outcomes Click now to read the above stories and more in our Annual Report. As always, a BIG thank you for joining us in making a BIG difference in the lives of children!