OUR HISTORY

For more than a century, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been helping change kids’ perspectives and giving them the opportunity to reach their potential.

It all started in 1904, when 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.

At 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. Both groups continued to work independently until 1977, when they joined forces to became Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

After more than a hundred years since its beginnings, Big Brothers Big Sisters remains true to our founders’ vision of bringing caring role models into the lives of children. And, today, Big Brothers Big Sisters operates in all 50 states—and in 12 countries around the world.

1904
Court Clerk Ernest Coulter helps organize the first Big Brothers Program in New York City. Ladies of Charity starts a similar program for girls who come before the New York Children’s Court.

1912
By 1912 “Bigs” were volunteering in 26 cities across the United States.

1958
Big Brothers Association is chartered by Congress.

1970
Big Sisters International is incorporated.

1977
Big Sisters International and Big Brothers Association merge, forming Big Brothers Big Sisters of America with 357 agencies.

1979
Sam Baca, a social worker with the Santa Fe Public Schools, works with Pam Najdowsky, Deborah Douglas, and other community leaders to start Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Fe, serving Santa Fe, Espanola, and Los Alamos.

1983
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Fe holds its first Bowl for Kids’ Sake event.

1985
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is honored with a commemorative stamp by the Postmaster General.

1995
A national Public/Private Ventures study on community-based mentoring shows measurable, positive results on youth who have a Big Brother or Sister, seminal research in the field of youth mentoring.

1997
President William J. Clinton holds Volunteer Summit in Philadelphia, at which Big Brothers Big Sisters plays a key role.

2001
Big Brothers Big Sisters Santa Fe expanded service offerings to Rio Arriba and Los Alamos County.

2003
The Santa Fe organization began service in Taos County.

2006
The Santa Fe unit expanded to serve additional counties in New Mexico–McKinley, Colfax, Mora, and San Miguel—and changed its name to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico.

2011
The Northern New Mexico unit received the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Agency and Board of the Year awards.

2015
Northern New Mexico Big Brothers Big Sisters merged with the Southwestern New Mexico organization to become Big Brothers Big Sisters Mountain Region, serving Doña Ana and Grant Counties. Received the Piñon Award as an outstanding nonprofit from the Santa Fe Community Foundation.

2016
The Mountain Region began serving Window Rock, Arizona, and the city of Grants, in Cibola County.

2018
The Mountain Region added Luna County to its service area.

2019
Big Brothers Big Sisters Mountain Region celebrated 40 years of service in Northern, Western, and Southwestern New Mexico. Established Outdoor Mentoring and Intergenerational Mentoring initiatives.

2020
The Mountain Region established virtual mentoring, allowing matched Bigs and Littles to maintain contact via technology when unable to meet in person.