SALEM, VA — Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Southwest VA was awarded $10,000 from the Comcast Foundation to fund the Salem School-based Mentoring Program.
BBBS of Southwest Virginia has served Salem City Public Schools since 2000 and last year their mentoring programs supported 70 mentor-mentee matches from across the city. BBBS of Southwest Virginia has a School-based Mentoring Program at every school in the system, serving children from grades K-12. Most children served by the program live in single parent and low-income families, or households where a parent is incarcerated. By partnering with parents/guardians, volunteers and others in the community we are accountable for each child in our program achieving higher aspirations, greater confidence, and better relationships; avoidance of risky behaviors; and educational success.
This grant will allow BBBS of Southwest VA to continue to provide mentors for children facing adversity in Salem.
Comcast, a national partner for BBBS and has supported the local agency for years. This grant from the foundation is in recognition of Comcast’s commitment to the communities where its customers and employees live and work.
About BBBS
For more than 60 years, BBBS of Southwest Virginia 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, BBBS makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”). Providing a system of ongoing evaluation and support, Big Brothers Big Sisters is proven by independent studies to help families by improving the odds that Littles will perform better in school and avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. BBBS of Southwest Virginia serves over 500 children.
About Comcast Foundation
Comcast Corporation founded the Comcast Foundation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified nonprofit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities. The Foundation has three community investment priorities—promoting community service, expanding digital literacy, and building tomorrow’s leaders. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $170 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves.
For more information, please contact Jessica Turley (Jessica Scaggs) marketing coordinator, Big Brothers Big Sisters of SW Virginia located, 124 Wells Ave NW, or call 540-345-9604 #5.
