Big Brothers Big Sisters Workplace Mentoring Selected by 100 Women in Hedge Funds as Beneficiary of Its 2010 New York Gala

Expected to Create Mentoring Opportunities for 1,000 Children

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Jul 12, 2010, 09:00 ET

PHILADELPHIA, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the nation's largest mentoring network, has been selected by 100 Women in Hedge Funds as the beneficiary of its 2010 annual New York Gala. The support will create the 100 Women in Hedge Funds Beyond School Walls(sm) program and will create 1,000 workplace mentoring opportunities for children in need.

100 Women in Hedge Funds' Board of Directors selects one or two organizations that focus on women's health, mentoring, or education to receive its annual charitable contribution. Big Brothers Big Sisters was the beneficiary of the $2.4 million raised at the 2004 Gala, which enabled the donor and volunteer supported network to strengthen school-based mentoring programs, provide capacity building investments, and roll out its proprietary Agency Information Management technology.

"It is an honor and a thrill for 100 Women in Hedge Funds to support a highly effective organization such as Big Brothers Big Sisters again," said Lauren Malafronte, Managing Director, Barclays Capital, and board member of 100 Women in Hedge Funds. Ms. Malafronte continued: "Big Brothers Big Sisters' mission to provide mentors to children in need is perfectly in line with ours and we are happy to partner with them."

Workplace mentoring provides opportunities for Big Brothers Big Sisters to expand its reach to more children and volunteers. Pioneered at Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPA), the Beyond School Walls(sm) program matches and supports mentors and mentees through workplace partnerships at a number of companies. For example, the Comcast Beyond School Walls(sm) program serves children in several markets through partnerships with local schools. Over the past five years nearly 1,200 children were mentored in Beyond School Walls(sm) programs in Southeastern Pennsylvania and the metrics from their program are very strong, showing that after just one year of being matched with a "Big" in the workplace mentoring program, 99% of "Littles" progressed to the next grade. After being matched for two years, that figure increases to a full 100%.

"The generosity of 100 Women in Hedge Funds will allow us to significantly expand workplace mentoring programs, which are proven to help children of single, low-income, and incarcerated parents to achieve in and out of school," said Big Brothers Big Sisters of America President and CEO Karen J. Mathis. "We will leverage learnings from Beyond School Walls and other workplace mentoring programs in place throughout our network and serve 1,000 additional children."

Big Brothers Big Sisters' supporters and others interested in sponsorships and tables for the November 17, 2010 Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street should contact event chair Martha Dabagian at [email protected].

About 100 Women in Hedge Funds (www.100womeninhedgefunds.org)

100 Women in Hedge Funds serves over 10,000 alternative investment management investors and practitioners through unique educational, professional leverage, and philanthropic initiatives. Each year 100 Women in Hedge Funds' Board of Directors selects one or two charitable organizations in New York and London within the philanthropic theme for the year. Charities are chosen on a rotating basis from women's health, mentoring, and education programs. The philanthropic theme for 2010 is mentoring.

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. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated. As the nation's largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers ("Bigs") and children ("Littles").

Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a system of ongoing evaluation and support that is proven by independent studies to help families by improving the odds that "Littles" will perform better in school and avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. Headquartered in Philadelphia with a network of nearly 400 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves more than 255,000 children. Learn how you can positively impact a child's life, donate, or volunteer at BigBrothersBigSisters.org.

SOURCE Big Brothers Big Sisters of America