Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee

BBBSMT has been successfully facilitating one-to-one mentoring relationships for children since 1969, building the next generation of citizens and stronger communities. Today, we remain focused on supporting caring adults (Bigs) walking beside individual children (Littles), helping them build resiliency from the adversity in their lives, find their talents and reach their potential. Following evidence-based national standards and practices for youth mentoring ensures high-quality programing and outcomes that are among the highest in the country.

Research shows that BBBS mentoring programs have real, meaningful outcomes for children. BBBS mentoring produces positive outcomes because success in life requires both academic and social/emotional competencies. One-to-one mentoring is a unique intervention for youth facing adversity because it addresses both types of competencies by focusing on the whole child: social skills/relationship development, personal/family concerns, emotional development, academic expectations and attitudes, and modeling of life skills (e.g., decision-making, goal-setting, educational aspirations, seeking out protective behaviors). When students improve in these areas, their likelihood of success increases.

What this program means to individual students was crystallized for us through an exchange between a BBBSMT social worker and a middle school-aged Little Brother:

Social Worker: “What do you like best about your Big Brother?”
Little Brother: “He sees potential in me when others don't.”

It is our mission to find the potential in each child and nurture it, by providing a mentor to stand with and support youth as they find their talents and strengths. Through this individualized attention, change happens. Students move forward toward success, one step at a time.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been providing mentoring services for more than 100 years, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring model we employ is the national gold standard. This one-to-one mentoring model promotes emotional support, forms positive social skills, and cultivates protective behaviors as well as feelings of safety and security. It enhances academic skills and produces greater positive relationships with both family and peers. Research has consistently shown that overall, youth enrolled in BBBS programs are less likely to begin using illegal drugs, alcohol, and are less likely to skip school than their peers who are not in a one-to-one mentoring relationship through Big Brothers Big Sisters. Thorough volunteer screening, training, and ongoing agency supervision of matches set Big Brothers Big Sisters apart from other mentoring services. Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring is an evidence-based practice, recognized nationally in the federal Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention's Model Programs Guide and in the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee (BBBSMT) serves youth facing adversity with caring adult mentors. Last year we served 1,013 children, the majority facing adversity such as racial disparities, poverty, and trauma, including parental incarceration and crime victimization. Despite their increased need for mentoring, these youth are less likely to have access to a mentor than their more affluent peers. BBBSMT strives to close that mentoring gap by serving more high-need youth with caring adult mentors.

Recent results:
- Of the 1,013 children served in 2019: 90% of the children received free/reduced lunches at school; 78% resided in non-two-parent homes; 85% were minority youth; 23% had a parent in prison.
- Continued to achieve positive results in match quality in 2019, with mentors and youth rating the quality of their relationships at 4.02 on a 5.0 scale.
- Achieved positive developmental outcomes for children in 2019, with 96.3% of youth improving or sustaining on key assets measured by the nationally developed Youth Outcomes Survey.
- Recognized by BBBS of America for the 7th year in a row as a 2019 Quality Award winner, ranking in the top 12% of all BBBS affiliates.

2019 Accomplishments:
-Served 1,013 children.
-Achieved an average match length of 36 months for community-based, and 20 months for site-based mentoring.
-Achieved average Strength of Relationship survey scores of 4.02 on a 5.0 scale, indicating strong & close relationships.
-96% of youth served maintained or improved on developmental assets related to educational expectations, emotional well-being, and social capital.
-Received a national Quality Award from BBBS of America for the 7th year in a row, ranking us in the top 10-12% of all BBBS agencies.
-MentorU, now its own program distinct from Site-Based mentoring, added a new class at Antioch High School. We negotiated the opening of a new site at Dickson County's most rural high school, Creekwood High, which began enrollment this fall. We are currently working to expand the program to Robertson County Schools. In 2019, we served 102 students through MentorU.
-Developed a comprehensive 2-year training plan for both staff and volunteers that includes trainings on implicit bias, cultural humility, cultural competence for specific communities, and trauma-informed work.
-Developed a new 2020-2023 Strategic Plan that focuses on increasing access to high-quality mentoring, increasing board diversity, diversifying funding and investing in strategic marketing, and investing in staff and their professional development.