Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City receives top honor
Awarded Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s 2010 Gold Standard Award

Kansas City, Mo. -- (May 4, 2010)  –  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City (BBBS-KC) has received Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s 2010 Gold Standard Award for significantly increasing revenues and successfully serving more children last year .  The agency is one of 22 of the national mentoring network’s nearly 400 agencies to receive the honor.
 
“Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City represents the best of the best of our agencies, those that made the greatest strides in 2009.  Their success is the result of dedicated board and staff members who have worked strategically to engage community backing, allowing the agency to carefully make more mentoring matches and to support the children, families and volunteers they serve for longer periods of time,” said Big Brothers Big Sisters of America President and Chief Executive Officer Karen J. Mathis.  “Independent studies find longer matches yield stronger results, with children performing better in and out of school.”
 
Judging for the Gold Standard Award is based on specific criteria that demonstrate excellence in increasing the number of children served, sustaining long-term mentoring matches and increasing revenues.  A national panel of past winners conducted the judging.
 
BBBS-KC was recently recognized as the second fastest growing Big Brothers Big Sisters agency in the country.  In 2009,  the number of children participating weekly grew to more than 1,000 matches and the agency increased it’s revenue by nearly 20%, making 2009 the most successful year in the agency’s 45-year history.  BBBS-KC will now be eligible to win Agency and Board of the Year, an award that is given to the organization’s top performing agency at the Big Brothers Big Sisters national conference in June.
 
“I am proud to be a part of a community committed to helping our most vulnerable children succeed,” said Micheal Lawrence, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City.  “This award says as much about our volunteers and supporters as it does about the agency itself.  In our current environment, it is more important than ever that we recognize and support what works to help children of single, low-income and incarcerated parents stay in school and away from negative influences.”

 
About Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters helps vulnerable children beat the odds.  The organization depends on donations to help recruit volunteers and reach more children.  Funding is used to conduct background checks on volunteers to ensure child safety; and provide ongoing support for children, families and volunteers to build and sustain long-lasting relationships.  Big Brothers Big Sisters is proven to improve children’s odds for succeeding in school, behaving nonviolently, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and breaking negative cycles.  Learn how you can change how children grow up in Kansas City by going to BigBrothersBigSisterskc.org.