Young People Thrive
Mentoring Relationships That Help
Our core programs pair a Big and a Little in a mentoring relationship. We thoroughly screen our mentors, and provide support and structure to create effective, long-lasting results. Additionally, we offer several innovative program models that allow us to serve more youth in metro Atlanta.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta creates and supports mentoring relationships for young people across Metro Atlanta. Research shows that mentored youth are more likely to attend college, experience stronger economic mobility, and build healthier social connections — including a 20% higher likelihood of college attendance and 15% higher earnings between ages 20 and 25.
Through our traditional one-to-one mentoring model, we match children and teens with caring adult mentors who provide friendship, encouragement, and consistent support. We also bring mentoring into schools, workplaces, and community settings through programs designed to meet young people where they are.
Whether a young person is matched with a Big, supported by a mentor at school, or connected to future-focused resources as a high school student, our goal is the same: helping young people build confidence, strengthen relationships, and see what is possible for their future.
Mentorship Creates
Long-Term Impact
One Mission
Multiple Ways to defend potential.
BBBSMA offers several mentoring models designed to meet young people, families, schools, and partners where they are.
Some young people are supported through a traditional one-to-one mentoring relationship. Others experience mentorship through school-based or workplace-connected programs that adapt the Big Brothers Big Sisters model to meet specific community needs.
No matter the setting, the goal is the same: to help young people build confidence, strengthen relationships, and see what is possible for their future.
The classic Big Brothers Big Sisters model: a young person matched with a caring adult mentor.
A school-based mentoring model that places professionally trained mentors inside middle schools to provide consistent support to students.
A workplace-connected mentoring model that introduces students to career pathways, life skills, and employee mentors through corporate partnerships.
Resources and opportunities for high school-aged youth across programs
Big Futures is not a standalone program. It is a suite of resources, experiences, and opportunities youth aged 13 and up across BBBSMA programs.
The classic Big Brothers Big Sisters experience.
Through this model, young people are matched with caring adult mentors who provide friendship, encouragement, and consistent support over time. Bigs and Littles spend time together in the community, building a meaningful relationship through everyday activities, shared experiences, and trusted conversations.
For adults interested in getting involved, this is the primary pathway to become a mentor.
Innovative Program Models
Built on our mentoring foundation. Adapted to meet community needs.
Our innovative program models extend the power of mentorship into schools, workplaces, and community partnerships.
Level Up and Beyond School Walls are built on the same belief that drives our traditional mentoring model: consistent, supportive relationships help young people thrive. These programs adapt that model to meet students where they already are and connect them with the support, exposure, and experiences they need.
Success Story: Sarah & Abrill
Big Sister Sarah and Little Sister Abrill have been matched for 3 years. In 2022, they participated in a featured segment at BBBSMA’s signature event, the Legacy Awards Gala. They were also selected to join Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens in the annual holiday tradition of lighting Macy’s Great Tree at Lenox Square. One reason Sarah chose to become a Big was a desire to help a young child who had immigrated to the US – as she had -- to navigate the complicated process of college prep and application. In addition to their shared love of shopping and fashion, Sarah and Abrill work together to ensure Abrill is on track to achieve her academic dreams.
Abrill’s mom says of Sarah, “She is very successful in her professional life, and committed to her position as a role model. As the daughter of immigrants herself, she knows the challenges Abrill will face. She is a Big Sister that Abrill can count on.”
