$41,161 raised by 54 donors
100% complete
$40,000 Goal
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado, helping youth reach their full potential!
In 2024, our community volunteers showed up for the youth as 1 to 1 mentors for our youth. Currently, we have served 97 youth with a mentoring relationship, year to date, and over 3,000 youth throughout our 40 years of operations in Southwest Colorado. We know that 76% Big Brothers Big Sisters Alumni believe they learned right from wrong from their Bigs (mentors). With that, we are continuing to provide local youth and young adults the opportunity to be powered by mentorship.
In order to serve more youth this year and into 2025, we rely on the investment of our entire community. From monetary donations to volunteering time, it takes us all. Your monetary support allows us to safety create, develop and support this relationships that often last a life time. With the increase in support required for our youth, their families and our community at large to thrive, the basic need of having one more caring adult in our lives can be fulfilled by Big Brothers Big Sisters programs.
It Takes Us ALL To Be Big.
While this example shows a Big going above and beyond his volunteer Big mentoring, you'll enjoy this extraordinary, heart-warming story:
My husband was a Big and met his Little over ten years ago when his Little was 7 years old. The young boy had minimal parenting and had no male figures in his life until BBBS SW CO. After my husband moved away from Durango, they kept in touch, sometimes sporadically. A little over a year ago, he called his Little to wish him a Merry Christmas and a whole long story came out. Essentially, his Little's Mom had pulled him from school when he was in 9th grade so he could start working. Mom didn't have a great work ethic, life spiraled downward and they became homeless.
It was because of his Little's 2 male mentors from BBBS that he was not drug impacted. His Little recently came to live with us so he could finish high school. It was a hard journey for him and we all struggled because he had such low expectations of himself and expected failure. With some confidence building, a stable home and meals, and a splash of tutoring and therapy, he graduated from high school with a 3.8 and made student of the month twice!
He left this week to join Job Corps. I just wanted to share this with you because it was absolutely because of the relationships you support between Bigs and Littles that this Little had a chance to persevere and succeed. Given that chance, he appreciatively grabbed it and is now on a path that will allow him even more opportunities.
He'll always be part of our family, we now have two children, 5 & 7. When he moved on to Job Corps, my 5-year old told me that water was going to fall from her face because she was so sad. She's not usually so poetic! But I know that the three of them now think of each other like siblings, and that is another relationship that he has that he feels really good about!
Our mission at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado is to create and support one to one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.
Since 1984, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado, founded by dedicated locals in Durango, has been committed to enhancing the lives of youth in the region. Inspired by the national Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, we proudly embrace the 1-to-1 mentoring model that has assisted in youth overcoming challenges and recognize their potential for over 40 years!
We are thrilled to support the youth of Southwest Colorado in finding their full potential! Currently, we focus on the youth of La Plata county and aim to expand outward into Archuleta and other surrounding counties, ensuring access to high-quality programs for youth to thrive from.
Through the nurturing of positive 1-to-1 mentoring with adults or peers, our youth are guided through challenges and uplifted to their full potential. From increased self-confidence and a sense of belonging to higher graduation rates and reduction of risky behavior, these relationships have proven to positively impact our community. These developed relationships have flourished as our mentors, known a “Bigs'', have invested time and care. This transformative power from mentorship brings remarkable benefits to both the mentor and mentee within our community. We firmly believe that by continuing to support these inspirational relationships, they will continue to thrive and achieve higher success on their own terms.
Organization name
Big Brothers Big Sisters of SOUTHWEST Colorado
other names
BBBS SW CO
1984
Tax id (EIN)
74-2333611
Category
Youth Development
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Colorado State Tax Credits
Colorado Child Care Credit
Address
1199 Main Avenue #203Mailing
P. O. Box 2154La Plata County, CO, US