June 26, 2012, Camarillo, Ca – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County has matched kids and teens with volunteers who take an interest in their lives by serving as a mentor and role model since 1970. Our volunteer mentors transform the lives of our young people through rewarding, enriching relationships that often last a lifetime. One segment of the population that is most at-risk is youth in our foster care system. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County is a national leader to offer an innovative mentoring program that directly targets the foster youth population in our community.

“Many of our foster youth are engaging in risky behaviors that lead down the wrong path in life. The facts speak for themselves and it becomes a vicious cycle for many of our youth to see that the choices they make today will impact their entire life,” said Kelly Dooley, the organization’s foster youth mentoring program manager. “That’s why our work is so critical! By providing foster youth with a mentor now, we can help guide and shape their future for the better.”

As a donor and volunteer driven organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters is able to develop and provide quality-mentoring programs for youth in our community. Even during a tough economic climate, Big Brothers Big Sisters has stepped up its game by attracting a group of caring community investors who share a passion for meeting the growing needs of our most vulnerable—those youth living in foster care due to the abandonment and instability in their lives.

Martin V. & Martha K. Smith Foundation, Meadowlark Service League, and the United Women’s Leadership Council have recently invested nearly $80,000 in support of the foster youth mentoring program at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County.

Lynne West, a 25-year veteran of Big Brothers Big Sisters and the agency CEO said, “We are thrilled that our foster youth mentoring program was funded by a group of such caring and generous foundations who like us believe that the greatest investment we can make as our society is with our youth.”

The Martin V. and Martha K. Smith Foundation was established “to enhance the quality of life for the residents of Ventura County.” It single handedly made the largest investment of more than $44,000 in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters and its foster youth mentoring program.

Meadowlark Service League is a non-profit organization of women dedicated to raising funds for a variety of local charities and programs that provide services to meet the needs of Camarillo and the greater Ventura County area. "The passionate and caring women of Meadowlark Service League are committed to making a difference in our local community. Our donation in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters will do just that for the youth being served in its foster youth mentoring program," said Vicki Berman, President of Meadowlark Service League.
The United Women’s Leadership Council (UWLC) is a group of individuals committed to resolving emancipation issues in our community through partnerships with other organizations to empower female foster youth, said Stephanie Mercer, chair of the United Women’s Leadership Council. “We are delighted to have found a viable partner in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County and have chosen to continue our collaborative efforts by awarding this outstanding youth organization $30,000 to assist with their effective foster youth mentoring program.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters has evidence-based outcomes that demonstrate the value of mentoring. Our mentors help lower crime rates, reduce violence and gang involvement, discourage alcohol, drug abuse, lower the incidence of teen pregnancies and help youth learn how to assume their positive place in the world. This effective mentoring model is why Big Brothers Big Sisters is ranked the #1 non-profit for working with at-risk youth. Studies repeatedly prove that children who have mentors are more likely to stay in school, enjoy better relationships with family and peers, and are less likely to engage in violence and abuse drugs or alcohol.

The Foster Youth Mentoring Program matches responsible and caring volunteers, who are 21 years of age or older, with youth who live in group homes, foster homes, or treatment facilities. Foster youth mentoring provides youth facing adversity with life skills and support needed to successfully transition to independent living. Big Brothers Big Sisters is actively recruiting 45 volunteer mentors called Bigs to spend quality, one-to-one time with their Littles, for a minimum of 2 hours per week, over a period of at least one year.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County
For more than 100 years nationally and 43 locally, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, professionally supported matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country. We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people. Learn how you can positively impact a child’s life, donate, or volunteer at www.bbsvc.org.