Mission: To provide children and youth with a supportive and meaningful
relationship with a caring volunteer.
History: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mississippi was started in October
2000 through a partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the Mississippi
Department of Education and the State of Mississippi's Attorney General's office.
Service Areas: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mississippi provides service
to children in the following communities:
Biloxi, Bolton, Brandon, Brookhaven, Byram, Canton ,Clarksdale , Cleveland, Clinton, Columbus, Dorsey, Durant , Edwards, Fairview, Flora, Florence, Flowood, Fulton, Gulfport, Guntown, Greenville, Hattiesburg, Indianola, Jackson, Laurel, Learned, Madison, Mantachie, McComb, Meridian, Mooreville, Moss Point, Nettleton, Ocean Springs, Oxford, Pascagoula , Pearl, Petal, Plantersville, Pontotoc, Raymond, Richland, Ridgeland, Senatobia, Shannon, Starkville, Terry , Tremont, Tupelo,Utica and Verona.
Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mississippi
Big Brothers Big Sisters is making a difference in your community. This is a re-issue of Public /Private Ventures,1 1995 impact study of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Making a Difference, which proved that high-quality mentoring can have tangible and significant effects on the lives of youth.
Researchers examined the lives of 1,000 10- to 16-year-olds who applied to Big Brothers Big Sisters for mentors. More than 60 percent of them were boys; more than half were members of minority groups, mostly African American. Over 80 percent came from impoverished families, approximately 40 percent were from homes with a history of drug or alcohol abuse, and almost all were being raised by a single parent. Half of these young people were matched with a mentor, while the rest stayed on the waiting list. Eighteen months later, the differences between the two groups were surprising. Weekly meetings with a mentor for (on average) a year had reduced first-time drug use by almost half and first-time alcohol use by a third, had cut school absenteeism by half, improved parental and peer relationships, and gave the youth confidence in doing their school work. The youth's grades even started getting a bit better.
Public/ Private Ventures, 1 found that Little Brothers and Little Sisters are:
46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs;
27% less likely to begin using alcohol
52% less likely to skip school
37% less likely to skip class
More confident in their schoolwork performance
Able to get along better with their families.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was devastating on the coast but it opened
wide one child's eyes. A Big and a little receive letters from Laura Bush and
are recognized by Americas Promise. Here is their story.
09/20/06
(Jordan)
I was matched with Samira through Big Brothers Big Sisters two
years ago. Samira taught me Happiness does not come from Material things. Samira
was making C's & D's in math. I love math. Samira has had all A's in math this
year.
Samira's mom and Dad were in prison when we were matched. Her
aunt and uncle had custody of her.
(Jordan's Mom)
This is what happened on the Day of the Hurricane.
We stayed for the storm. The whole morning the weather wasn't
that bad. We went outside numerous times to check on the neighbor's house and
we were talking to them on the phone. The water started to rise to about ankle
deep in our carport so we went inside. Immediately water started coming in from
under the door. Then it was coming in the bedrooms through the foundation. It
happened very fast. Within 5 minutes the water was knee deep in our house. Both
bathrooms had exploded and water (sewage) was everywhere. Jordan and my husband
went out the bedroom window to get the boat. The wind had pick up a lot.
They pulled the boat off the trailer while I gathered up the
pets and my youngest daughter. Jordan then came back in the house to help me
with the pets. We didn't have a huge boat, but it will hold 8-10 people. By
this time the water about 4 feet in the house. Not knowing how high it would
get we decided to leave the house. Jordan went back through the window into
the boat while my husband held the boat as close to the house as possible. I
handed 4 dogs and a cat through the window to Jordan and then she helped her
little sister in. As we were leaving the house we stopped at out neighbor's
house to help them into the boat. Our neighbor was 82 and her daughter 58 had
stayed also. Mrs. Inez could not lift her leg to get in the boat, so my husband
had to go under water to lift her while Jordan and I pulled her into the boat.
Her legs were cut very badly on the steps of the boat. We then boated 4 blocks
to pick up my mother and step father. The water had not gotten any higher but
the winds were fierce. Jordan and my youngest daughter huddled on the floor
of the boat. Jordan was trying to keep her sister calm, but never took her eyes
off of me. We picked up my mother, stepfather, and another man walking down
the street and headed to high ground. We took the boat as far as we could but
there was no shelter from the wind.
Mrs. Inez had lost a lot of blood and we needed help. Jordan
and I walked/crawled 4 houses down to where we saw people standing outside many
people had evacuated to this house when the water came up to get help. They
did come help us and we did get shelter from the wind. We stayed here close
to 5 hours. We had to get Mrs. Inez to the hospital and Jordan had started to
hyperventilate. The winds were slow enough for us to drive, so the owner of
the house drove us to the hospital. Jordan was fine after a while, but Mrs.
Inez was admitted to the hospital. Mrs. Inez passed away 24 hours later from
a heart attack.
We were lucky enough to get a room at a hotel North of the Hwy
90 that night. We stayed in the hotel for 3 weeks and were so excited when we
got our FEMA trailer.
The house only flooded it did not fall down and we were very
blessed for that, but we lost everything on the inside. Everything except pictures
that were at the top of my closet. I think going back to the house and having
to clean it out was the worst part for the kids because they had to help throw
all of their "Stuff" away.
(Jordan)
Hurricane Katrina changed my life forever. I am glad it happened
to me. Before the hurricane I was totally focused on myself. I was only concerned
about Material things. I did not understand what real life is all about.
Samira makes me happy. Like I said she taught me that Happiness
is not based on material things. She is now back living with her mom who has
been released from prison.
Everyone coming together helping each other and accepting each
other, Big Brothers Big Sisters was a gift to me.
