Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota

Big Brothers Big Sisters has been serving Central Minnesota since 1969 and is an affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA). Our mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth, and our vision is to help all youth achieve their full potential.

We make meaningful, professionally supported matches between volunteer mentors (Bigs) and youth (Littles). BBBS of Central MN serves youth between the ages of 5 and 21 across a five-county service area: Stearns, Benton, Sherburne, Morrison, and northern Wright County. We serve more than 400 youth each year.

Through our various mentoring initiatives, matches spend between two and four hours per month together. Matches can be community-based, school- or site-based, or a part of our Dr. Potter Bigs on Campus Mentoring Initiative. Our staff plans two to three activities each month for matches to participate in, and each match is professionally supported with calls to the mentor, mentee, and parent/guardian to ensure that not only is the match safe, it is also serving everyone in the best way possible.

Being a part of Big Brothers Big Sisters has a lasting positive impact on local youth:

82 percent of our Littles maintained or improved their academic performance or grades
96 percent maintained or improved their educational expectations
87 percent felt as connected or more connected to their family or parent/guardian after being a part of the program
94 percent maintained or improved their social competence
91 percent have maintained or improved their attitude toward risky behaviors such as bullying, substance use, and illegal activities