Dear Friends,

As young people across all five boroughs wrap up another school year and prepare for the long days of summer, Big Brothers Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City has much to celebrate in honor of the academic success of our Littles.

We have recommitted ourselves to helping more kids perform well in school, realize their dreams, and achieve success in life. With that vision, we recently completed the second year of our Education Initiative – designed to help serve the needs of elementary, middle and high school Littles. The goals of this Initiative include improving the academic achievement and performance of Littles, increasing the involvement of their families and volunteers in their education, and developing education focused partnerships so that Littles can develop grade appropriate skills.

With the support of our external partners, this year we hosted academic workshops and tutoring sessions, registered youth for college credit courses, matched new Littles with Bigs through our Community Impact mentoring program, hosted several college campus tours for our Littles, and offered site-based match activities for those matches.

In addition to those incredible markers of success, our recent Academic Recognition Ceremony honored outstanding Littles for their success in their schools and communities, awarded fifteen deserving graduating Littles with college scholarships (the highest amount of awards to date!), and thanked our partners for their astounding commitment to youth and their educational progression. We were so pleased to have alumni Little Brother and 2014 scholarship recipient, Rayvon, address the audience and speak to them about his experience in his first year of college at Boston University. According to Rayvon, BBBS of NYC and his Big Brother, Andy, played a critical role in helping shape him into the young man he is today. You may view Rayvon’s remarks in its entirety by clicking on the following link: http://youtu.be/alIiaEN6TKM.

As you can see, Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC is truly striving for excellence. Mentoring continues to be the critical distinction between children realizing their full potential and those who struggle to succeed, and so we are indebted to all those who make our work possible.

Wishing you all a safe and pleasant summer. Regards,

Hector Batista

Chief Executive Officer