WHO WE ARE
The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of the Permian Basin, Inc. is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.
The founding of the organized Big Brothers movement is celebrated as 1904, when Ernest K. Coulter, Chief Clerk of the New York Children’s Court, noted that a large number of the children appearing in court came from homes where the father was absent, and took action. In addressing the Men’s Club of the Central Presbyterian Church regarding delinquent boys, Mr. Coulter said,
THESE BOYS' ONLY GUILT IS THAT THEY HAVE BEEN DEPRIVED OF A BASIC CHILDHOOD RIGHT...THE RIGHT TO A FATHER'S LOVE, UNDERSTANDING, AND EXAMPLE.
IT IS A RIGHT WHICH THEY AND OTHERS LIKE THEM MAY NEVER RECEIVE UNLESS MEN LIKE YOU GIVE IT TO THEM.
Ernest K. Coulter
Chief Clerk of the New York Children's Court
So impressed were the forty club members by Coulter’s words that they volunteered their services and the first officially recognized Big Brothers agency came into being. In 1908, the first Big Sisters agency was also formed in New York City. “Big Brothers of America” and “Big Sisters International” operated separately until a merger in 1977 when “Big Brothers Big Sisters of America” was created.
In 1975, a youth mentoring organization in Midland formed under the umbrella of “Family Services of Midland” (now known as “Centers for Children and Families”). The purpose of this organization was to provide a friend to a school-aged child from a single-parent home. Volunteers were asked to spend two to three hours per week with the children to whom they were “matched.” In 1981, this organization became a fully-accredited Big Brothers Big Sisters agency. Services are provided year-round and free of charge.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a sole purpose organization, existing to provide safe, effective mentoring for children who need and want additional guidance and friendship. The majority of the children we serve have experienced divorce or separation in their homes, or the loss of a parent through death or incarceration, and have an overwhelming need for companionship that their single parent or caretaker cannot meet alone.
We match mentors (Bigs) with children (Littles) on a one-to-one basis. These matches maintain regular contact either in our traditional Community-Based Mentoring Program or in our School-Based Mentoring Program. High school students are able to serve as mentors and an important component of our service is the training, skill development and opportunity provided for these young adults. Our Littles, aged 5 to 18, are all voluntary participants and come from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.