BOSTON, Mass. – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts (BBBSEM) and Big Sister Association of Greater Boston (BSAGB) are merging to expand access to one-to-one youth mentoring programs and resources for hundreds of children, families, and volunteer mentors across the region. The announcement comes after months of strategic planning in which the co-affiliates have agreed to operate as one organization under the BBBSEM umbrella.

“Our innovative approach to youth mentoring, and ability to scale across 150 communities throughout Eastern Massachusetts enables us to play a vital role in the youth development landscape,” says Mark O’Donnell, BBBSEM President & CEO. “The merger with Big Sister Association of Greater Boston will help us to expand girls’ programming outside of Boston and help to further our collective impact across the region to ensure young people have consistent access to mentorship.”

As part of the merger, BBBSEM will maintain BSAGB partnerships and programs, which will give BBBSEM an opportunity to learn, grow, and evolve gender-specific programming. The entire BBBS community – the mentors, mentees, and their guardians – will continue to be professionally supported by BBBS staff members with access to resources and shared-best practices to continue best in class gender-specific programming, curriculum, and match support. By creating a stronger, unified voice for mentorship in the region, youth will gain access to a variety of support and recruitment of volunteers and partners to the mission will broaden. BBBSEM is committed to building a gender-inclusive community where mentorship is accessible so all youth and families can thrive. To date, one part-time and six full-time staff members from BSAGB have joined the BBBSEM team and nearly 300 BSAGB community-based matches and over 80 site-based matches have transitioned their mentoring relationships to be supported by BBBSEM.

Since 1951, Big Sister Association of Greater Boston has delivered a range of programming to support girls and young women across 69 cities and towns of Greater Boston. Through one-to-one and group mentoring, school- and site-based programs, group and near-peer mentoring, and its New Girls Network, BSAGB has been a leader in gender-intentional mentoring, fostering a supportive community for thousands of girls and gender-fluid youth over the past seven decades.

“Both organizations share a deep commitment to empowering youth through the transformative power of mentoring and I am excited about this merger which represents a significant step forward in achieving this shared vision,” says Annissa Essaibi George, Big Sister President & CEO. “Big Sister has a long, nationally recognized, legacy of serving girls and young women in the Greater Boston area. The merger with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts will lead to expanded gender-intentional programming and a strengthening of the power of that sisterhood to more female-identifying youth. By working together, we will create a brighter future for more young people in Greater Boston, equipping them with the tools and confidence to reach their full potential.”

In its 76th year of service, BBBSEM stands at its highest point as the second largest Big Brother Big Sister affiliate in the country, behind only the nonprofit covering the entire state of Texas. This year, the organization is supporting nearly 4,000 youth, over 50 percent of whom identify as female. In the past seven decades, BBBSEM has created and served more than 25,000 matches.

BBBSEM is now enrolling and matching Littles and Bigs. The organization welcomes Bigs and Littles of all races, ethnicities, cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, and physical abilities. For more information, to donate, or to become a volunteer or register your child, visit: www.emassbigs.org.