Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America

The Big Brothers Big Sisters program has been helping to change the lives of children and adults for over a century. According to the website of Big Brothers Big Sisters, in 1904, a young New York City court clerk named Ernest Coulter was seeing more and more boys come through his courtroom. He recognized that caring adults could help many of these kids stay out of trouble, and he set out to find volunteers. That marked the beginning of the Big Brothers movement. By 1916, Big Brothers had spread to 96 cities across the country. Around the same time, the members of a group called Ladies of Charity were befriending girls who had come through the New York Children’s Court. That group would later become Catholic Big Sisters. Then in 1977 the two joined forces to become Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America. The program currently operates in all 50 states in the U.S. and in 12 other countries around the world. Although, many years have passed since Coulter’s vision the program remains and so do all the stories of the lives that have been changed through his dream.

Here is the story of how Big Brothers Big Sisters of America changed my life. My father was never in the picture from the very day that I was born. My mother worked full-time; I have an older brother that joined the Navy when I was about eight. I also have two sisters but was lacking that male bonding that seems to be vital in the growing up of a young man. I was dealing with a lot of anger problems at this point in my life and the hard streets of New Orleans weren’t a suitable substitute for a role model. Then my mom decided to go to Big Brothers Big Sisters to find help, and help she found. In 1991, when I was nine years old I was matched with a Big Brother named Earl. This meeting of two brothers couldn’t have come at a better time in my life, because while all my so called friends were running the streets getting into trouble I was spending a great deal of time with Earl. We did all sorts of things together but most importantly just hung out as “the guys”.

Some of the things we did included going fishing a lot, going for walks, hanging out at his house, going to the park to fly kites or play Frisbee or just having a male figure to talk to about my problems. All these things combined have crafted a lifelong brotherhood of two people, Earl and I still keep in touch after 18 years of friendship. He has told me on many occasions that I have helped him in his journey of life more than I know that I have, just by knowing he too has someone he can count on and talk to. My own story is only the breaking point of the lives that have been changed due to Big Brothers Big Sisters. I have found another story I would like to share with you the readers.