News & Stories

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…

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…

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County is honored to celebrate  Gwendolyn Bork as this week’s featured Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree!  A NYS Board Certified Addiction Recovery Coach and Trainer, Gwendolyn is the Vice President of In His Name Outreach (IHNO); a non-profit, faith-based resource center dedicated to building and restoring the spiritual, emotional and physical health of our community. The organization won Best in Business for the Town of Cheektowaga in the Counseling/Coaching Category in 2015.  As a member of the Erie County Opiate Epidemic Taskforce, she has been working diligently to spread the message of hope for families.   As shared in her WWMTC nomination, “Gwendolyn cares so deeply about people and has a soft spot for youth in need. She is constantly…

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County is honored to celebrate Lorna MacDonald Czarnota as this week’s featured Women Who Move the City Wednesday (WWMTC) Honoree!  Lorna, an award-winning storyteller and author, has delighted audiences in schools, libraries, festivals and conferences throughout the United States, Canada, and Ireland with traditional and original stories since 1985.  She is the founder and executive director of Crossroads Story Center, Inc., a not-for-profit reaching at-risk youth through story, music and art.  The organization is dedicated to helping young people navigate troubled waters through the model of story by mentoring and forming productive adult/youth partnerships.  Lorna’s healing story work is recognized in national and international storytelling communities. Lorna was the resident storyteller for nine years at Hopevale Residential Treatment Center and presents…

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…

We are honored to recognize the following outstanding women who are making a difference in our community as BBBSEC’s 2017 Women Who Move the City Honorees: Cheryl Bird Gwendolyn Bork Lorna MacDonald Czarnota Susan Gastle Danielle Lewis Deborah Tangelder Marilyn Gibson Young Each Wednesday, beginning March 22nd, we will highlight one of our honorees.  Check back here on Women Who Move the City Wednesdays to read a full bios about the work these incredible women are doing!  Join the Celebration!  Women Who Move the City will be held on Wednesday, May 10th at the Hotel Lafayette from 5:30 – 8:30pm.  Attendees will enjoy a unique evening that includes hors d’oeuvres, two-hours of open bar, shopping & information vendors and a swag bag of goodies.  To learn…

The BIG Give is YOUR chance to make a BIG difference in the lives of children!  Your donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie County will help provide children facing adversity with caring adult mentors to give them a chance to reach their full potential.  Between now and December 31, help us raise $10,000 to support our one-to-one mentoring programs by giving to one of our BIG Give Fundraisers or our General Big Give Page. Click here to give today. Thanks!

You help make our work possible and we wanted to share our success with you. We hope you will enjoy reading our Annual Report. With the generous support of our community, over 400 children were matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister. Through the caring time commitment of our Bigs, and the generous contributions of Western New Yorkers, these children have been empowered to achieve their current goals and reach for future aspirations. The Annual Report includes: Story about two very special Big Sisters Updates on exciting partnerships Recap of our 2015 events 2015 Financial Statement July 2015 – June 2016 Program Outcomes We hope you enjoy and as always, thank you for joining us in making a BIG difference in the lives of…