Big Brothers Big Sisters holds itself accountable to the families, children, and mentors enrolled in our program. Our
responsibility is to the donors, partners, and advocates who make our work possible. That is why a commitment to
continuous learning, improvement, and research is at the heart of what we do.

According to the Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) study, our one-to-one model truly makes an impact in children’s
lives. Approximately 1,000 youth from eight Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country who were looking for
mentors were part of this study. Approximately half of the children were randomly chosen to be matched with a Big
Brother or Big Sister. The others were assigned to a waiting list. The matched children met with their Big Brothers or
Big Sisters about three times a month for an average of one year. Researchers surveyed both the matched and
unmatched children, and their parents, on two occasions: when they first applied for a Big Brother or Big Sister, and
again 18 months later.

Researchers found that after 18 months of spending time with their Bigs, the Littles, compared to those children not in
our program, were: