Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Florida closes

By Becky Newell, State Coordinator (West FL) on 06/27/2011 @ 11:35 AM

Tags: West

In early June, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Florida, which had served Lee, Collier, and parts of Charlotte Countyfor the past 35 years, closed its doors. According to a spokesperson for the national Big Brothers Big Sisters of America organization, the Southwest Florida group lost its affiliate status as a “result of the agency’s non-compliance with the financial and operating standards” of the national organization.

According to a recent article in the Naples Daily News, until the closing, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Florida served 500 children and their mentors, and about 200 more children were on the waiting list to be matched with a mentor.

But in the true spirit of a dedicated mentoring program,Venice-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast, which serves the neighboring counties of Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Highlands, Hardee and west Charlotte, is conducting a feasibility study to determine whether that organization can also serve Lee, Collier, and the parts of Charlotte County that it does not already cover, as well as Glades and Hendry Counties.

In an editorial in the Fort Myers News-Press, Joy Mahler, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast, is quoted as saying “The needs of the children are paramount.” We couldn’t agree more.

Anyone interested in helping Big Brothers Big Sistersof the Sun Coast in any part of Southwest Florida can contact the organization by email at info@bbbssun.org or by phone at (941) 488-4009.