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Our History
Founded in 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest and largest youth
mentoring organization in the United States. Ernest Coulter founded Big
Brothers in New York City in 1904. Coulter, a clerk of the Juvenile Court
at the time, was appalled by the suffering of the thousands of children
who repeatedly came through the court system. At a meeting of civic and
business leaders on December 4, 1904, Coulter appealed to those present
to take on the role of a “Big Brother.” All 39 men present stepped forward,
creating the movement that is now Big Brothers Big Sisters. In the decades
to follow, Big Brothers and Big Sisters programs sprang up throughout the country.
In the spirit of Coulter’s vision, a group of three community-minded gentleman –
Reverend Paul Crafton, George Taliaferro and Jack Harlow – founded Big Brothers
Big Sisters of Monroe County in February 1973. Taliaferro had been a Big Brother
during his professional football days in Baltimore; Crafton was very active in
the faith community; and Harlow worked in corrections. For Harlow, like Coulter,
the motivation came from seeing young faces enter the criminal justice system
day after day; now retired, Jack still remains one of the Board’s most active members.
The agency, called Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monroe County, officially opened in September 1974 with a commitment to serve area
at-risk youth. The first Big Brother match took place on October 18, 1974 between
Big Brother Manning Dare and Little Brother Danny Holman. The first Big Sister
match followed on October 21, 1974 between Big Sister Jan Haycraft and Little
Sister Barbara Key. By the end of 1976 more than 100 local youth had caring
Big Brothers and Big Sisters. In 2001, a dedicated and determined group of volunteers generated the resources to open a branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters in Owen County,prompting the agency's name to be changed to Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana. Judge Frank Nardi served as the first Big Brother in the Owen County community.
Today, Big Brothers Big Sisters is the leading youth mentoring organization
in the United States, serving more than 250,000 children, ages six through
18, in all 50 states and 12 countries around the world.
The long-term vision of Big Brothers Big Sisters is to serve 300,000 children by 2010.
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