SAN FRANCISCO—Supervisors Malia Cohen and David Chiu today announced a partnership between the City and County of San Francisco, sf.citi and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area to reduce the existing waiting list of San Francisco children seeking mentors from 83 to zero.
Big Brothers Big Sisters, a non-profit organization providing year round, long term, 1:1 mentoring, a proven intervention for improving youth academic achievement and social engagement, serves 1,000 youth throughout the Bay Area and currently has 83 children in San Francisco on a waitlist for a mentor.
Photo: Left to Right – Lottie Titus (Grandmother of a BBBS mentee), Katherine Bella (CEO of BBBSBA),
Supervisor David Chiu, Steve Sarner (sf.citi Board and Vice President of Marketing at Tagged),
Supervisor Malia Cohen, City Librarian Luis Herrera.
Recognizing the ongoing growth of the tech sector and sf.citi’s mission to engage the industry towards playing an active role in the community, Supervisors Cohen and Chiu helped bring these two organizations together with a goal of not only decreasing the waitlist to zero, but building a database of mentors for the future. The connection to sf.citi’s membership will specifically target mentors who, in addition to offering their time and commitment, can also provide children with access to future skill development and career opportunities.
“One-on-one mentoring is a proven model to help inspire and guide young people,” said Supervisor Cohen. “We should be doing everything possible to bring additional resources, people and energy to help our City’s children. This partnership will have a lasting impact on our community.”
sf.citi, a tech advocacy organization with over 700 members and 15,000 individual supporters, is consistently seeking opportunities to engage with the community and bring talent, innovation and energy towards solutions to help the City. The organization gladly accepted the call to engage their membership on such an important issue.
“Our members represent San Francisco values and care deeply about the City’s future,” said sf.citi Board of Directors member Steve Sarner, Vice President of Marketing for Tagged Inc., a social media company. “Our goal will be to meet this challenge and help connect kids from throughout the City to our individual members who can offer time, compassion, and their expertise.”
Board of Supervisors President David Chiu also recognized an opportunity to assist young people who are seeking mentoring opportunities from one of the City’s fastest growing sectors. “During National Mentorship Month, it is fitting that we highlight the efforts of those investing in young people who are seeking guidance and role models,” said Supervisor Chiu. “While we have seen real economic benefits from our City’s tech sector, I will continue to strongly encourage the industry to play a more significant role in our civic fabric and answer the call to serve.”
“We’re so grateful to both Supervisors Chiu and Cohen, and sf.citi, for organizing this effort to match children with motivated mentors,” said Katherine Bella, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area. “Children at this age are incredibly impressionable, and every child deserves the opportunity to have a role model in their life.”
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