Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay has been named as the first organization to receive the monthly Back the Blue award, presented by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to law enforcement officers, citizens, and organizations that take extraordinary steps to forge positive relationships between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.
Moody’s previous Back the Blue winners had all been individuals. She presented BBBS of Tampa Bay the award at their second annual Bigs in Blue Summit, a panel discussion about the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program that matches law enforcement volunteers with children facing adversity in their local community.
The Bigs in Blue program currently has more than 100 officers and support personnel representing 19 agencies serving as mentors, called “Bigs,” with children and youth, called “Littles,” in the seven counties served by BBBS of Tampa Bay (Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Polk, Citrus, Hernando and Sumter).
Pam Iorio, CEO of BBBS of America, also spoke at the Summit, which highlighted the recent launch of a Bigs in Blue partnership with the St. Petersburg Police Department. In the first year of a two-year commitment, SPPD staff hosts 26 juniors from Lakewood and St. Petersburg high schools once a month as part of a School-to-Work program.
“Our officers and civilian staff are very much enjoying the opportunity this program has given them to interact with the next generation of workers,” said Anthony Holloway, Chief of the St. Petersburg Police Department and one of the Summit panelists. “It’s a win-win situation where everyone benefits as they learn from each other. I know our personnel look forward each month to sharing time with their Littles.”
About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay is part of the nation’s largest donor and volunteer-supported mentoring network, and holds itself accountable for children in its program to achieve measurable outcomes, such as educational success, avoidance of risky behaviors, higher aspirations, greater confidence and better relationships. Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs youth, or “Littles,” with screened volunteer mentors, or “Bigs,” and monitors these mentoring matches throughout their time in the program. Big Brothers Big Sisters provides children facing adversity – often of a single or low-income household or families where a parent is incarcerated or serving in the military – with strong and enduring, professionally-supported one-to-one mentoring relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. In 2018, more than 3,000 children were paired with mentors in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties. The agency was awarded the BBBS National Pinnacle Award for 2018, one of only 6 agencies nationwide to earn the organization’s highest honor. For more information please visit www.bbbstampabay.org.