About - History and Background

The National Program

In 1904 a young New York City court clerk named Ernest Coulter began seeing the same troubled boys show up in his courtroom over and over again. He realized that none of these children had a stable, caring adult in their lives. He wondered if responsible volunteers from the community could help these kids stay out of trouble.

He didn't realize he was starting a movement. But by 1912, there were "Big Brothers" volunteering in 26 cities. By 1916, Big Brothers had spread to 96 cities around the country.

A group called the Ladies of Charity was equally concerned about troubled girls, and its members tried to befriend the girls who came through the New York Children's Court. This, too, began a chain reaction, and the group eventually became a nationwide organization called "Catholic Big Sisters."

In 1977 the two groups formally merged, becoming Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Today we operate in all 50 states - and in 35 countries around the world.

Our Local Program

In 1960, the Evansville Area Council of Churches initiated a "Big Brother" program patterned after Big Brothers of America, Inc., but the program operated independently until incorporating in the State of Indiana in 1969. The 1970's were a period of growth for the Big Brother movement that was brought on by the increasing number of children growing up in a single-parent family.

1973	Frank Howard was hired as the first full-time director and provisional membership in Big Brothers of America was granted
1974	1974 A Big Sister program was initiated, and in October of that same year, the corporate name was changed to Big Brothers Big Sisters.
1980	Began holding our Bowl For Kids Sake Fundraising event in the early 1980's.
2000	An office opened in Perry County, Indiana and Linda Reed was hired as the Program Director.
	Started School Mentoring Programs at the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation.
2003	An office opened in Knox County, Indiana and Dawn Huffman-Sparks was hired as the Program Director.
	Started School Mentoring Programs in Perry and Spencer Counties.
2007	After more than 30 years of service to BBBS, Frank Howard resigned as Executive Director and Sara Greathouse stepped in as Interim Director.
2008	Linda Reed is named Interim Executive Director. Then After serving as intern director for six months, in July of 2008 Linda was named as the third director of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
	Moved to our new location of 101 Plaza East Blvd., Suite 315, Evanville, IN 4715
	In October of 2008 we accomplished a major goal. Our national agency set goals of making 30 matches in 30 days. We were able to make 100 new matches in the month of October! That's 100 additional children receiving the benefits of having a Big Brother or a Big Sister!
	Dawn Huffman-Sparks resigns as Knox County Program Director and Barbara Tooley was hired.
2009	The agency has been serving children in the Ohio Valley region for almost 50 years.