The Westchester chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) recently announced that it has spun off from Family Services of Westchester (FSW), the social service agency that has sponsored it for the past 64 years. Effective immediately, BBBS is now an independent 501(c)(3) agency officially named Big Brothers Big Sisters of Westchester County Inc. The regional chapter of the federation of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America will be headquartered at 10 Midland Ave. in Port Chester, New York.
“This is the logical next step in the evolution of our mission to help the youth of Westchester and Putnam counties achieve their full potential,” said Valerie Brown, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Westchester County.
“As this transformation takes place, Family Services of Westchester will continue to refer children in need of mentors to our organization, as we will continue to refer our families to FSW for much needed ancillary services,” adds Brown. “We have built a strong support network with them these past six decades and that”™s something that will not change for our children and families, who can expect the same conscientious level of care and collaboration in all of our programs.”
Independence from FSW will allow BBBS of Westchester to expand its mission to serve more children in need and attract more volunteers within broader geographic and programmatic areas.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Westchester County is a youth mentoring organization that serves children who face adversity in New York”™s Westchester and Putnam counties to help keep them in school, away from violence and substance abuse, while assisting them to achieve their full potential in life. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is the oldest and largest youth-mentoring program in the United States with 238 agencies in over 5,000 communities.