History of Big Brothers-Big Sisters
Big Brothers came about almost 100 years ago. In 1903 Irvin Westheimer, a Cincinnati businessman, saw a young boy foraging for food in an alley trash can. Mr. Westheimer befriended the youth and learned that he was fatherless. Mr. Westheimer along with like-minded business and personal friends felt that fatherless boys could benefit from an association with interested men who would act as a "big brother" to the young boys.
In New York in 1904, Ernest K. Coulter realized that many of the boys who came in contact with the Children's Court were fatherless. Mr. Coulter believed that the influence of a positive role model in these boys' lives would help. Therefore, he and 40 other men undertook to form a friendship with a boy from the court caseload. In 1909 some of these men joined Mr. Coulter in formally incorporating the first Big Brothers agency.
| The philosophy eventually spread throughout the United States and into Canada. In 1913, the first Big Brother program began in Toronto. As agencies formed in other communities it became clear that there was a need to co-ordinate the program, set guidelines and standards, and promote the agencies growth throughout Canada. Therefore, in 1964, representatives of ten associations formed a national organization. By 2002, there were 186 member agencies throughout Canada, serving approximately 17,000 children. |
In 1967 the Kiwanis Club of Fredericton delegated a committee to investigate the feasibility of establishing a Big Brother Association in Fredericton. In 1969, the Big Brother Association of Fredericton formed its own Board of Directors, became recognized by Big Brothers of Canada and became a member agency of the United Way. The Chairman of the feasibility committee, Gordon Petrie, became the first President of the Big Brother Association of Fredericton.
Since the late sixties, the "Big Brother" philosophy has thrived and flourished in the Fredericton area. Our Agency has expanded to include Oromocto. Our staff has grown from volunteers operating the Agency to professional staff. In 1980, we expanded our program to include Big Sisters and Cross Gender Matching of Big Sisters to Little Brothers was introduced in 1991. In 1998, our agency began the In-School Mentoring Program which matches children and adult volunteers in a school setting. The Big Bunch Friendship Program was added in 2009.
Over the years our agency has helped hundreds of children in our community. We look forward to serving those children for many more years. With the support of the Fredericton and Oromocto area we will continue "building futures through friendships".