THE BIG PICTURE A LETTER FROM BBBSCNNJ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & BOARD PRESIDENT Dear Friends, This has been a historic year, and we couldn’t have provided direct services to help our Littles and families without your support. It truly took a village for our agency to rise to every challenge we faced. We began 2020 with the monumental task of growing from serving two counties to 10 counties across New Jersey. When COVID-19 took hold, we had to adapt quickly to help families outside the scope of our mission and ensure they were taken care of. From providing hot meals, groceries, and grocery store gift cards, to tutoring, emotional support, and more, you stepped up to help. Despite tumultuous times, our mentoring programs continued to thrive as we transitioned to virtual environments. BBBSCNNJ took 100 kids off the Community Based waiting list in 2020 and kicked off 24 group programs – with six more commencing in the first quarter of 2021. We know that brighter days are just over the horizon and will be marked by increased compassion, connection, and collective action, to advance our mission to ignite the power and promise of youth. Our vision for 2021 is to imagine a future of BIGGER IMPACT. A future of growth where our agency creates even more life-changing, longer lasting friendships between committed volunteers and youth in need of a positive mentor. On behalf of the entire BBBSCNNJ family, thank you for supporting our organization and empowering the resilience of our Littles. With gratitude, Barry Weshnak William Salcedo President, Board of Trustees Executive Director 1 CHANGE THE WORLD P O TENTIAL TO Big Brothers Big Sisters is a national organization working to clear the path to a child’s biggest we match each child with a mentor to foster a friendship built on trust, learning, and growth. Together, we are defenders of potential. mentornj.org 732.544.2224 2 AGENCY EXPANSION ast year, we celebrated some BIG NEWS: Our agency expanded to serve eight additional counties! As Big Brothers Big Sisters of L Coastal & Northern New Jersey, we now serve 1 ,350 children throughout Bergen, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, & Warren Counties. With your support, we’ll make an even BIGGER IMPACT by helping more children realize their BIGGEST POTENTIAL through one-to-one mentoring. BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS EXPANSION OVERVIEW EXPANSION BENEFITS IMPACT OF SCALE FUNDING RESOURCES n More children served over time n Approximately 1,350 children n Stronger board of trustees, with the highest quality mentoring were served in 2020. with dedicated regional boards programs. n Streamlined technology & database in Coastal & Northern New n Increased relevancy by creating systems, allowing for improved Jersey and better positioning a stronger agency and community efficiencies and enhanced program for future board recruitment. partner with improved return on and fund development efforts. n Increased financial stability, funder investment. n Greater access to larger media market, attractive to a broader array of n Expanded & innovative programming allowing for easier recruitment of individual and corporate donors. including Bigs in Blue, a mentoring volunteers, consolidated marketing, n Dedicated grant management program that connects youth and greater brand awareness. staff to indentify strategic and with police. n Improved outcomes based on proven innovative grant funding. n Enhanced talent, as size and volume program model: n Reduced administrative costs, will allow us to hire quality staff in n 96% were competent in avoiding so more funding is available to key positions. risky behaviors like tobacco, drugs, create Big-Little matches. n Continued services in all counties: and alcohol use. Bergen, Hunterdon, Middlesex, n 95% maintained or had improve- Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, ment in their relationship with Somerset, Sussex, and Warren. their parent(s). n 93% believe they will graduate high school. EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP SUMMARY n Leadership changes at BBBS of Ocean County & BBBS of Northern New Jersey initiated the process to adopt a regional model to effectively serve children in a cost effective manner. n Recognizing the need for greater efficiency and a more diversified funding model in its regional chapters, BBBS of America assisted BBBS of Monmouth & Middlesex Counties as they assumed governance of eight additional NJ counties. n After careful consideration and planning for success, BBBSMMC board agrees to expand operating budget from $1.3M to $2M to serve more youth. n The new agency officially became Big Brothers Big Sisters of Coastal & Northern New Jersey. 3 4 BIG & LITTLES CONNECTED DURING QUARANTINE BIG SISTER ILLANA & LITTLE SISTER SHIANNE NEVER LOSE HOPE: MAKING NEW CONNECTIONS DURING QUARANTINE hianne and I first met during quarantine. We had 5 minutes “alone” time in a separate chat room. It was a little awkward, S but we managed to chat and come up with our first activity. Our first activity was cooking - we concocted alfredo. To quote Shianne, “It was good! Even my brother and mom loved it.” Since then, we’ve stayed connected via Facetime, and we have mostly danced (preparing for the BBBS Open Mic night) and talked. It was important for us to stay connected as we needed to bond, which we’ve been doing pretty well. It’s easy to do nothing and lose motiva- tion and hope during quarantine, but we didn’t want to let the virus beat us...and it didn’t! We are really looking forward to meeting “IRL.” BIG SISTER DIANE & LITTLE SISTER ALEXIS BIG BROTHER ANTHONY uring the challenging times of sheltering in place due & LITTLE BROTHER JOSEPH to the Coronavirus, my Little Brother Joseph and I D stayed in contact. It was not exciting or impressive or heroic, but it was consistent. Our plan, which we stuck with, was to simply talk on the phone on a consistent basis. We cov- ered the basics to make sure he was safe and healthy and cur- rent with school work. We also talked about positive things and things that Joseph enjoys, like his dog Chase and my dog Oliver, and games played and shows watched. We talked about things to look forward to, like outside activities that we would do together once the restrictions were lifted. My main intention was to build trust, show care, and interest and optimism for the future. To us, it was representative of the im- portant things of life. No bells and whistles but simply doing the right thing and showing care and interest. 5 BEST WISHES Hackensack Meridian Health is proud to support Big Brother Big Sisters of Coastal and Northern New Jersey on its occasion of This Is Not A Gala. ■ ■ ■ Best wishes for a successful event. KEEP GETTING BETTER 6 MAKE-A-MATCH THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO SPONSORED OR SHARED-A-MATCH IN 2020! Your generosity enabled us to create 5 Big & Little matches HAPPINESS IS A GREAT MATCH! to begin a friendship that we hope will last a lifetime! ake a match between a caring adult M and a child in need of a friend and role model! Businesses and individuals are SPONSOR-A-MATCH 2020 SHARE-A-MATCH 2020 invited to donate toward the $2,000 cost to $2,000 or more! Ramond Curnew, Jr. provide a child with an adult mentor and professionally supervise their friendship Dunkin’ Dave Muldowney for the first year. Make-A-Match contribu- Rick & Ann Holbert Peter & Maria Ryan tors each receive a photo and description Barry Weshnak The Somers Family of the match they helped create as well as updates during the year. With your help, we can make a positive impact on a child’s life and future through one-to-one mentoring. Helping a child become more confident, perform better in school, avoid risky behaviors, & guide them on a path to success: COST TO MAKE-A-MATCH: Recruitment & intake process PRICELESS of Big, Little & Parent/Guardian: $600 Volunteer screening [fingerprinting, DMV, sex offender & reference checks]: $100 Volunteer training $100 Continuous professional supervision of the match for the first year: $1050 General liability insurance: $122.50 Travel to make the match: $27.50 Total cost: $2,000 BIG BROTHER MICHAEL & LITTLE BROTHER JAMES BIG SISTER ALEXA & LITTLE SISTER DANIELLA BIG SISTER KELLIE & LITTLE SISTER JANAYA BIG BROTHER MATT & LITTLE BROTHER CAESAR BIG COUPLE JOE AND RENEE & LITTLE BROTHER ANTHONY 7 BEST WISHES TO on a successful “THIS IS NOT A GALA” Fundraiser from: BARRY & CAROL WESHNAK and 8 MISSION PARTNERS Support the Mission of as a Mission Makers 9 COMMUNITY BASED MENTORING PROGRAM ig Brothers Big Sisters’ Community Based Mentoring Program connects children ages 6-15 with committed volunteers that are B 19 years of age or older. “Bigs” and “Littles” spend quality one-to- one time in the community, engaging in low cost activities twice a month. The goal of the mentoring relationship is to build a trusting friendship through positive guidance and support to enhance the child’s ability to become a confident, competent, and caring adult. A minimum of a one year commitment is required for the program with the hope that the men- torship will last a lifetime! MATCHES STAYING CONNECTED During this challenging time, our Bigs and Littles have embraced connect- ing virtually as well as becoming “pen pals” through the mail. Heartwarm- ing drawings and letters lift spirits and help our matches look forward to when they can see each other in person again. Little Brother Ambrose drew an “I Miss You” picture for his Big Sister Heather, and Little Sister Callie drew a portrait of her Big Sister Michelle from the Morris County Bigs in Blue Program. Big Sister Natalie and Little Sister Zoe and Big Sister Lauren and Little Sister Maria have enjoyed connecting on video calls.