CEO Letter

As Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana enters another year of service – and with the implementation of a new, long-term strategic plan launched in July 2008 – we ask ourselves: How can we unleash the power of one-to-one mentoring?

Youth thrive on the experience of a one-to-one relationship with an adult who is attentive to their ideas, encourages them to succeed, and genuinely cares about them as a good friend would do. We have pondered, debated and discussed the notion of whether there is a way for us to take this incredible power of one-to-one relationships and multiply it in a way that would impact schools, neighborhoods and communities?

One of my favorite sociological theories is that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” In the past, we have been looking at “parts” but not the “whole” as a community-service agency.

If we unleash the power of mentoring and think in terms of impact and growth, we can strategically reach many youth in areas that are in need of mentoring. We can serve each one-to-one mentor relationship well, while we also build a “community of mentoring.”

One relationship at a time, we can inspire and mobilize mentors throughout our communities and build momentum as we support multiple mentoring relationships in targeted geographic areas. We will not only have a tremendous influence on the youth we serve, but we will also have a positive impact within the schools and neighborhoods in which the youth live now, as well as the communities in which they are likely to reside as adults.

As our organization looks to find out how BIG we can be by unleashing the power of one-to-one mentoring, we invite you to join us. Please contact me to share your ideas by calling me at 317-472-3702 or via email at teagan@bbbsci.org.

Tonja L. Eagan
CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana