Big Brothers Big Sisters Recognizes National Partners at Annual Conference

DALLAS, June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, recognizing the growth and importance of its corporate support, has presented five of its distinguished partners with the national mentoring organization's first National Partners Awards.  The Jack in the Box Foundation; Margaret A. Cargill Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Philip Morris USA, an Altria Company; and Reed Smith, LLP received their awards at Big Brothers Big Sisters' national conference in Dallas, Texas.

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"We are enormously fortunate to have such a strong group of generous and talented partners that support Big Brothers Big Sisters of America as it changes the lives of children facing adversity for the better, forever," said Karen J. Mathis, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.  "The support of these five organizations has been vital in allowing us to provide professionally supported, one-to-one, strong and enduring relationships that lead to each child in our program achieving educational success, higher aspirations and confidence, improved relationships and risky behavior avoidance.  We are proud of our partnerships and grateful for their ongoing commitment to positively change the lives of children facing many challenges in life."

The Jack in the Box Foundation, a dedicated Big Brothers Big Sisters national partner for more than a decade, received the organization's Chairman's Award, recognizing partners whose engagement in philanthropic activities have had a significant impact on the advancement of Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring programs across the country.  In 2010 the Jack in the Box Foundation, a long-term supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters' mentoring programs and families, gave more than $825,000 to support Big Brothers Big Sisters Military, Hispanic and School-Based Mentoring programs.

The recipient of Big Brothers Big Sisters' Enterprise Award for a new partner whose vision and investment led to innovation for the mentoring network was the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation. Their investment provided Big Brothers Big Sisters the foundation to launch a new technology platform and customer relationship management system, and helped to leverage more than $1 million in support of the project.  The new technology will manage and nurture the organization's interactions with its constituents and prospects, helping to drive Big Brothers Big Sisters to the forefront of youth service federations.

MetLife Foundation's sustained support has been the cornerstone for the growth and expansion of Big Brothers Big Sisters' Hispanic Mentoring program.  They received the President's Award, recognizing a donor whose investment has promoted a standard of excellence throughout the nearly 370-agency mentoring network. With $1.5 million in funding from MetLife Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters has deepened its engagement of the Hispanic community and increased its services to meet the needs of Hispanic children and families, which is especially important as children of color disproportionately represent those waiting to be matched at local Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies.  

Big Brothers Big Sisters presented its Community Impact Award to Philip Morris USA, an Altria Company.  This award is given to a long-standing donor whose generosity has greatly impacted the community of the mentoring organization. The company's continued investment has enhanced Big Brothers Big Sisters infrastructure and optimized performance management across the mentoring network, specifically allowing Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in the Southeast to enhance their direct impact on local communities.

Reed Smith, LLP, an international law firm with 22 offices around the world, received Big Brothers Big Sisters' Common Good Award. Reed Smith has provided the donor-supported mentoring organization with more than $600 million in pro bono legal services and their commitment of a diverse set of experience, such as employment, contract and trademark law, has assisted with growth in several areas across the Big Brothers Big Sisters network. The Common Good Award is given to partners who provide an investment of services to benefit the common good of Big Brothers Big Sisters' organization and brand as a whole.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation's largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters' mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.

Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children ("Littles") with screened volunteer mentors ("Bigs") and monitors and supports them in one-to-one mentoring matches throughout their course. The organization holds itself accountable for children in the program to achieve measurable outcomes, such as higher aspirations; greater confidence and better relationships; educational success; and avoidance of delinquency and other risky behaviors. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated. Headquartered in Philadelphia with a network of about 370 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves nearly 250,000 children. Learn how you can positively impact a child's life, donate or volunteer at BigBrothersBigSisters.org.

SOURCE Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

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