News & Stories

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County is honored to celebrate Zandra Cunningham as this week’s Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree! Zandra is a 17-year old entrepreneur who started her creative journey at the age of 9 mixing up lip balm in her home kitchen. She joined the Kids Biz Small Business Development Center at Buffalo State College and the rest is history. Today her Buffalo based company, Zandra Beauty, works out of a compliant production and distribution facility and sells her impressive line of products online and in retail locations. Her brand is committed to sustainable practices with a priority on products that are gentle and sensitive to teen skin. Zandra, who believes all girls should be confident in their own skin…

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County is honored to celebrate Jody Galvin as this week’s Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree!  Jody’s community efforts focus on providing opportunity to underrepresented people in education and law.  She is on the board of Buffalo Prep which expands access to college preparatory education.  She volunteers with University at Buffalo Law School on its Discover Law program which promotes entry into the legal profession for talented people of color and first generation college students.  She is a Discover Law mentor and has coordinated the mentoring matches between students and practicing attorneys.  Jody also assists unrepresented people with civil legal matters in United States District Court and recruits volunteer attorneys for its Pro Se Assistance Program.  Jody…

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County is honored to celebrate Raziya Hill as this week’s Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree!  A native of Buffalo, Raziya is passionate about alleviating financial hardships experienced by families when needing to provide diaper and wipes on a consistent basis. To address this need, she is the Founder and Executive Director of Every Bottom Covered (EBC), a diaper bank that operates out of the Delavan Grider Community Center.  EBC provides diapers and wipes on a monthly basis at no cost to low-income families in the Western New York area. Since partnering with the Delavan Grider Community Center in May 2017, EBC has enrolled over 800 children, with new clients signing up daily! Additionally, Raziya has worked…

Big Brothers Big Sisters is honored to celebrate Emily Felmet as this week’s Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree!  A Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters since July 2010, Emily has created an amazing friendship with her Little Sister Quinnshona. Emily and her Little Sister have enjoyed a wide range of activities and firsts over their years together. Emily has been a consistent influence providing support and general guidance on life for her Little Sister as she has grown from a child to high school student! In addition to her time as a Big Sister, Emily is also passionate about forwarding the agency’s mission. She has been a member of the agency’s Big Mirror and Women Who Move the City committees and currently…

Big Brothers Big Sisters is honored to celebrate Alexa Zappia as our first Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree!  Alexa, a native of  Williamsville, is currently a senior at St. John Fisher College in Rochester. In 2009, Alexa faced tragedy when her life mentor, Susan Wehle, suddenly passed away in the Flight 3407 plane crash. Alexa wanted to do something that would make her proud by continuing to touch peoples’ lives as Susan touched hers. How does a 12-year-old grieve such a tragedy? To Alexa, she found her life’s purpose: to volunteer at struggling organizations within the Buffalo community. Since the plane crash, Alexa has accumulated over 3,000 volunteer hours. Alexa has received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for three consecutive years during Barack Obama’s…

For Immediate Release Buffalo, N.Y. – The local mentoring agency known as Be-A-Friend Program, Inc. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County for the last 45+ years is growing and has changed its name to reflect the new service area approved by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA). The agency will now be known as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie, Niagara and the Southern Tier. BBBSA has designated the Southern Tier service area to include Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties. In recent years, the agency had expanded it services through partnerships with the Lewiston Porter School District and Seneca Nation. “We are excited to have the support of our National office as we expand to bring the nationally recognized mentoring programs of Big Brothers…

Do you know a woman who is making a BIG difference in our community?  We are currently seeking nominations of outstanding women serving as volunteers throughout WNY for our 2018 Women Who Move the City Honorees. For more information and to submit a nomination, click here. Nominations are due by Wednesday, February 14th at 5pm. Celebrate the 2018 Women Who Move the City Honorees with an evening filled with networking, one of a kind shopping from a variety of local vendors, food and drinks! Wednesday, May 2, 2018 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM Hotel Lafayette, Buffalo, NY Early Bird tickets are only $40 (purchase before April 15th)! To purchase your ticket online – click here or reserve your ticket by calling (716) 873-5833, ext. 245. For…

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.  

Our Annual Big Give campaign is underway! This is your chance between now and November 28th to help us raise $6,250 to support our one-to-one mentoring programs  By giving to one of our Big Brother or Big Sister BIG Give Fundraisers or by giving to the general BIG Give page, you can help create a new match!  To learn more, click here.  A BIG thanks!