Press Release
Dear Friends, volunteers, and supporters of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado,
In March, I reached my one-year anniversary with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado (BBBSC). As someone who devoted their life’s work to mentoring more than 30 years ago, I could not be prouder of the service and successes of BBBSC during these past two years of the pandemic.
The world will forever be changed by the pandemic. For BBBSC, 2021 was a year of innovation, collaboration and thinking outside of the box. At the same time, youth ages 12-24 are the most adversely affected by the challenges and unintended consequences of the Covid-19 Pandemic. This coupled with the racial reckoning, complexity and history of race and equity and the negative impact on our most vulnerable communities, exposed in 2020 and 2021, the way we do business, most importantly nonprofits will never be the same.
BBBSC has been igniting the power and potential of youth through one-to-one mentoring for 106 years. BBBSC was founded as an alternative to the juvenile justice system. In 2021, we deepened our commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI). We also recognized, as a leading mentoring organization, we need to do whatever it takes to close the mentoring gap where 1 in 3 youth are without a mentor or role model. We also strive to be able to meet the current and emerging needs of youth ages 8-18 and better equip them with the social and emotional wellness, and the skills for success beyond high school.
As a part of that journey, I am pleased to announce Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado’s intended acquisition of the STARS peer-to-peer mentoring program from FRIENDS FIRST. This event will merge two like-minded, Gold Star mentoring programs in Colorado and expand our portfolio of services offered across age groups.
FRIENDS FIRST, a local nonprofit that has served youth throughout the nation for over 26 years with a well-established, evidence informed peer mentoring program called STARS, which stands for Students Teaching About Relationships and Success. In 2021, I became CEO of BBBSC after serving as CEO for FRIENDS FIRST for eight years.
When I was at FRIENDS FIRST (FF), we had the opportunity to build a strong evidence-informed peer mentoring program and trained by FF staff to serve as mentors to youth ages 12-14. There is power in the dual impact that we were having on youth ages 11-18. I also relished in how young people embraced a term trademarked by FF, “MENTORLIFE™” to always invest in someone and to always have someone investing in you. This was a cornerstone of FF proprietary program, Students Teaching About Relationships and Success (STARS) Mentoring Program. Schools across the nation embraced the program.
Even with its success we often identified youth who needed more support than what the group mentoring model could offer. I used to say if we could only offer one-to-one mentoring with the excellence of BBBSC for those students, we would be a stronger agency. Then I came to BBBSC and found myself saying if only, we offered group or peer mentoring, we would have a suite of mentoring services to tackle the ever-growing list of youth waiting for a mentor.
Today we find ourselves realizing the best of both worlds. More importantly, this decision perfectly aligns with the voice of the community that we gathered from eight listening sessions informing the 2022-2025 strategic plan “A Brave Path to A Big Future.”
We are extremely excited by this possibility and for what the future holds. Thank you for your commitment to youth.
Sincerely Yours,
Elycia Cook
CEO | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado
