August 30, 2011
With a $12,000 grant from Flint Hills Resources, Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas has expanded its mentoring program for Davis Middle School and White Elementary School students.
Twelve volunteers from Alpha Phi Alpha, Omega Psi Phi and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternities have stepped up to serve as mentors as part of the BBBS African-American Mentoring Initiative Advisory Council.
Karen Mathis, president and CEO with the National BBBS office in Philadelphia, Denise Barkharst with BBBS of South Texas, Marlon Davis, principal at White Elementary School, and Anita O’Neal, principal at Davis Middle School, gathered today to celebrate this new initiative and its significance to local school students.
The Council was formed in 2010 as a result of BBBS’ partnership with the three largest African-American fraternities to encourage more volunteer mentors for African-American youth. Twenty percent of students on the Big Brothers Big Sisters waiting list are AfricanAmerican, while only 5 percent of volunteers are African-American. Of the African-American volunteers, less than 2 percent are male.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters
The purpose of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas program is to provide the support children need to make good choices, avoid risky behaviors and to develop the assets they need to grow up to become healthy, contributing, productive adults. During these challenging economic times children are more at risk than ever before of living in poverty, being abused, joining gangs, dropping out of school, engaging in substance abuse, juvenile delinquency and incarceration, and early pregnancy. Research consistently shows that Big Brothers Big Sisters can help stop these destructive cycles for children who are mentored through the program. For more information, visit http://www.bigmentor.org or call (210) 225-6322.