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Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is bolstering its capacity to advocate for vulnerable children, families and communities. A new $398,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan, will help Big Brothers Big Sisters define an enhanced advocacy and engagement strategy that will complement the organization’s direct services.

“Independent research finds Big Brothers Big Sisters changes the life trajectory of children growing up in families headed by single-, low-income or incarcerated parents,” said Big Brothers of America President and CEO Karen Mathis. “This expanded approach to supporting the families we serve is a natural evolution for our 385-agency network. As we carefully match children with volunteers and provide ongoing service to the matches and families throughout the mentoring relationship, supported by donors such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we are uniquely positioned to ensure that the voices of all involved are heard to engender positive changes at a fundamental level.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters, which received the one-year grant in January, has conducted research, including focus groups of its mentees and mentors in Albuquerque, NM and Detroit, MI to learn more about the critical needs and challenges within the communities it serves. The mentoring network has also begun to identify fundamental systems and policies that underlie and contribute to the circumstances confronting vulnerable children, including poverty, violence and educational, structural and racial/ethnic inequalities.