Letter from Board Chair

Dear Friends of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana:

I am honored and excited to begin my term as Board President of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana. After many years of involvement with the agency stemming back to Big Sisters of Central Indiana, I have developed great passion for the work of this agency in the community and increasing respect and gratitude to the many mentors, youth, families, donors, funders, staff and board members who give their hearts to this mission.

I have had a number of important mentors in my own life, and those experiences still touch me today. My mother was my most significant mentor. She raised my brother and me as a single working mother on a modest income. She might not have known it at the time, but she had the most influence on my life and instilled in me the duty to give back and help others. Her example is part of what drives my commitment to this agency.

Through the impact of Big Brothers Big Sisters one-to-one mentoring, I know without a doubt that we have a proven model of success in helping young people succeed in life. Through quality one-to-one mentoring, BBBSCI's mission is targeted at building early successes in young people that may lead to reducing negative societal challenges later on, like teen pregnancy, unemployment, homelessness, domestic violence, etc. Through a Big, a Little has a friend who believes in them, someone who will help develop that boy or girl into a confident, competent and caring adult who can contribute to their community in positive ways.

As board chair, I plan to aggressively track our progress under the new three-year strategic plan. Quality one-to-one mentoring with proven community impact is our goal. We want to steadily and realistically increase the number of matches over the three-year period to 1,800 matches by 2010-11. With your help, we can make it happen. I look forward to working with you!

Sincerely,

Susan Brock Williams

Board President