News

A video submitted by one of our Big Sisters, Emily Felmet, is one of eight finalists in First Niagara’s 2016 Mentoring Matters Grant Giveaway Contest. The video that receives the most votes will win a $10,000 prize!  We need your help!  It’s simple, Click Here to VOTE for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County to win.We promise you will be touched when you view the amazing video about Big Sister Emily & Little Sister Quinnshona’s friendship of over 5 years.  You will be glad you voted for them!  You can only vote once and voting ends Feb. 1st.   You can also help by sharing the contest link on your Facebook page and asking your friends to vote for Big Brothers Big Sisters of…

You can help us raise funds to match children waiting with a Big Brother or Big Sister!  Between now and December 31, help us raise $15,000 to support our one-to-one mentoring programs by giving to one of our BIG Give Fundraisers  or giving to the general BIG Give page. A BIG Thank You for your support!

We are excited to share that results from the end of the 2014-2015 school year show that 98.9% of children involved the agency’s mentoring programs were promoted to the next grade level. In addition, 84% of children had a more positive attitude towards school and 96% had improved self-confidence. These results hold true for children attending Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) who are enrolled in BBBSEC’s innovative program, Transforming Buffalo Through Mentoring & Education™ (TBTME). Students enrolled in TBTME™ demonstrated improvements in attendance and a reduction in discipline referrals. These results lead to improved academic performance and a better chance for future success. Other positive outcomes from the 2014-2015 school year for children enrolled in BBBSEC’s Transforming Buffalo Through Mentoring & Education™ include: Attendance records showed…

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of Erie County (BBBSEC) received a grant of $37,950 from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation to upgrade the organization’s outdated technology.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…

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…

Our Bigs & Littles celebrated the start of summer at our Annual Welcome Summer Picnic sponsored by Wegmans. Guests enjoyed dinner and a number of fun activities including carnival games run by volunteers from Ingram Micro. As part of our Pathways to STEM Partnership with National Grid, the kids mixed and measured just the right ingredients to create homemade “silly putty”. Littles also created handmade bookmarks and received new books for summer reading thanks toMichaels and had a chance to explore a fire truck from the Snyder Fire Department. The highlight of the evening was taking a moment to congratulate our Littles who are moving up to high school and the nine Little Brothers & Sisters who graduated from high school this year. Congrats to…

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County and Media Sponsor, Kiss 98.5 are excited to honor Megan McNally as this week’s Women Who Move the City Wednesday Honoree! Megan McNally is co-founder and Executive Director of The Foundry, an organization on the east side of Buffalo that supports business creation, education and creativity. Located in a historic 25,000 square foot building, The Foundry offers workshop space for start-up businesses, artisans and tradespeople, as well as a multi-function community space to support arts performances, DIY education and public gatherings. It has become a recognized place for the encouragement of new ideas and productive action. In the last year, The Foundry has hosted workshops for over 400 participants and introduced new individuals into the east side community. Additionally, The Foundry…