Big Brothers Big Sisters of Winchester, Frederick & Clarke Counties helps vulnerable children beat the odds. Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring is proven to improve children's odds for succeeding in school, behaving nonviolently, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and breaking negative cycles.

Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated. As the nation's largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers ("Bigs") and children ("Littles").

Big Brothers Big Sisters has been serving children in Winchester, Frederick & Clarke Counties since 1973. Read on to see how you can make a BIG impact on the life of a child.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Winchester, Frederick & Clarke Counties

Big Brothers Big Sisters is helping change the way children grow up in Winchester, Frederick and Clarke Counties and communities like it all across the country.

We exist to help children achieve their full potential through professionally supported one-to-one mentoring.

Being a Big Brother or Big Sister doesn't take a lot of time or money and you don't have to be a super hero. What it does take, is a passion for kids, a willingness to have fun and invest a little focused time on a child who needs a same gender role model. We call it fun with a purpose - the purpose is to help point a child in the right direction to avoid risky behaviors, stand in the gap left open by a parent who is not part of the child's life.

What parents say about the impact of BBBS on their child's life:

• 72% report improved school performance
• 74% indicate that their child showed more trust toward them
• 92% reported increased self-confidence.

If you've been thinking about volunteering to help improve the lives of other people - now is the time to apply.

Here is a typical Little Brother meeting his Big for the first time:

His name is Tyler: he appears to be a typical eight-year-old; a straight shooter, with teeth too big for his mouth, tousled hair and has one thing on his mind: SPORTS. Tyler is articulate, active and you shouldn't let his size fool you into thinking he can't take care of himself. While he is all smiles on the surface, home is not a warm or safe place where people ask "how was your day" or spend time just hanging out. The reality is Tyler is lonely. His grandparents who are raising him seem so out of touch. He hardly ever sees his real parents. So, you can imagine how excited Tyler is to have someone who actually wants to spend time with him. Not only will his Big Brother spend time with him today, but he's coming back next week and the week after. Tuesdays have just become Tyler's favorite day of the week. You can sense from Tyler that this is a milestone for him. His eagerness to have a friend is even more evident as he shows the BBBS staffer who introduced Tyler to his big out the door and says, "So, what are we doing first? I was thinking . . ." and so the magic begins.