Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga

Amari is 11 and waiting for a Big Sister in the CB program. She loves crafts and animals and wants someone to have fun with and play basketball!

Had fun hanging out with the for their kickoff event this past Wednesday!

Join us tomorrow – Thursday, September 12th – from 8am to 2pm at the Northshore location of for a special Give Back day! Drop in, grab some coffee, hang out, and learn more about volunteering with our organization.

Help us

Continuing to honor those we lost.

Bryant is 9 and is waiting for a Big Brother in our community-based program. He would like a Big Brother that can help him with his work and go to the park with him. He thinks the perfect Big Brother would be 40!

Learn more by visiting bbbschatt.org/endthewait

NEXT INFO SESSION IS SEPTEMBER 12TH

Special thanks to Hamilton County Schools for allowing us to stop by their recent Male Teachers of Color session to talk about the power of becoming a Big!

Real stories from our waiting Littles...

Amanda is 10 and waiting for a Big Sister in the CB program. She said she wants a Big who can help her with history because it’s hard for her to keep up and the answers are complicated. She also wants someone to do art with!

https://www.bbbschatt.org/endthewait

Happy Labor Day!

Today we said ‘farewell’ to our CEO of 5+ years, Jessica Whatley! We have grown immensely under her leadership and look forward to witnessing the BIG things she’ll accomplish at Northside Neighborhood House 👏 👏 👏

Great night at the ball field this past Tuesday with our matches. We even received a suprise donation from the Chattanooga Lookouts that will help continue to support our current and new matches!!! 💚🖤💚🖤

Flashing back to when Hali [Big] and Haven [Little] connected for the first time just a few short weeks ago!

MedicareMisty has mentored numerous adults and children, guiding several agents in her business six-figure incomes at no charge. She built her business Medicare Misty as a single mother and continues to give tirelessly to her community, family, and church. Misty has an entrepreneurial spirit and has served as a mentor to four 8th grade girls at to Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, and still mentors them today!

Our staff had a chance to break away and spend the day at Crabtree Farms of Chattanooga yesterday for our employee retreat! In addition to having a fun and purposeful day, we were able to celebrate our staff members who were presented with Core Value Awards 🥇

From left to right — Enrique Davey, Amber Hoyle, Russell McBride, Leah Bales, Kim Weiss

Reginald Yearby is a dedicated mentor who tirelessly works with kids across all communities, earning their affection as "Coach" through his unwavering commitment and selfless dedication. He has overcome financial barriers by funding his programs with personal resources and by securing grants, ensuring every child has access to school supplies, clothing, and enriching experiences beyond Chattanooga. His year-round mentoring and impactful "Reach One Teach One" programs, including summer camps and after-school activities, have made an impact for numerous youth across Chattanooga.

We'd like to introduce you to award finalist DeMarcus Boyce, a three-time mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters, has been a dedicated advocate for the organization for over a decade, serving as both a Big Brother and on staff as a case manager. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and currently works at Unum, and also serves on BBBS's Diversity Task Force where he continues to impact the community by advancing BBBS's mission in Chattanooga.

Letter from the CEO:

Dear Friends –
It is with a mix of gratitude and excitement that I announce my resignation as CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga, effective August 31st. I will be stepping into the role of CEO at Northside Neighborhood House. I have spent 11 years within the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization and over 5 here in Chattanooga. There aren’t words to express my feelings so I will say thank you – for your support, leadership, friendship, and mentorship. You have all taught me so much and I have been so fortunate to work alongside you. To our staff, Board, parents, Bigs, Littles, donors, and partners – I am so thankful this mission has connected us.

The BBBS community and passion for igniting the potential of youth inspires me and I will continue to be a Big, donor, and friend of BBBS always. I'm particularly excited to still attend this year's City of Potential Awards Breakfast as a guest, and I hope to see you there! I look forward to continuing to cheer on our youth as they live into their potential.

I am incredibly proud of the work we have done together but know there is much work to do. Big Brothers Big Sisters is needed now more than ever. I have the utmost confidence in our current team and know the Board of Directors is dedicated to finding the best person to lead the agency into the future.

Thank you for your unwavering support and dedication to mentoring.

Sincerely,
Jessica Whatley

Join us at the ball field August 27th as the Chattanooga Lookouts host a Give Back night supporting us! Visit the link below to purchase discounted tickets!!! $3 from every ticket helps support meaningful mentoring matches.

bit.ly/bbbslookouts

Pretty sure our matches qualified for the next Olympic Games during last weekend’s rafting trip!

Special thanks to Hiwassee Outfitters for always being a great partner 🙌

We’re going to miss Summer! Sure, school is about to begin for the kids and you probably think we’re referencing the end of your beach vacations…but we’re really talking about our amazing Activities Coordinator, Summer Coleman!!! Today will be her last day with us as she prepares to begin her post-secondary journey as a freshman at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga this fall.

Summer, thanks for being a part of our team and we wish you an awesome first semester and beyond!!!

Last week we had a chance to deliver some special gifts to some special people! We'd like to congratulate our City of Potential Finalists!!!

⛳️ BIG THANKS to the participants and sponsors of our Top Golf Tournament 2024! Special congratulations to our winners 🎉

Please join us in welcoming the newest member of our team, Cari Phillips [School Mentoring Coordinator]!

Cari has a Masters in Social Work from UTC and as our new School Mentoring Coordinator, she will support Bigs and Littles in school-based mentoring relationships and implement facilitated mentoring programs in local schools.

"I'm so excited to be the school mentoring coordinator with BBBS because I really believe one-to-one mentoring relationships have a lasting impact on kids. I'm also stoked to be involved with Hamilton County Schools because I want to contribute towards serving students holistically through education."

There's nothing like the moment a match comes together for the first time! Looking forward to the memories created by Disaya [Little] & Isha [Big].

Celebrating a couple of our newest matches! Can't wait to see what cool stuff they get in to 🙌

Congratulations to the finalists for the Excellence in Mentoring Award – Drew Barton, Lulu Copeland, Tia Hunt.

This award recognizes a mentor whose consistency, commitment, advocacy, and creativity have made a critical, long-lasting impact on the life of a mentee. This mentor should be a champion of those that they formally or informally mentor and should be a person who generously shares their valuable time to be accessible to those they mentor.

Congratulations to the finalists for the Accelerating Potential Award – Wendy Reynoso [La Paz], Lighthouse Collective, and Kingdom Partners.

This award celebrates the organizations and people who are creatively and strategically implementing mentoring into new communities. The award recognizes those whose bold initiatives and entrepreneurial spirits are harnessing the power of mentoring to improve outcomes.

🇺🇸 Wishing our Bigs, Littles and everyone in-between a happy and safe 4th of July!

Congratulations to the finalists for the Chris Ramsey Legacy Mentoring Award – DeMarcus Boyce, Reginald Yearby, and Misty Bolt.

This award was established in memory of Big Brother and Community Leader, Chris Ramsey. It recognizes an individual whose long-standing commitment to mentoring has impacted the life of multiple individuals and whose life represents the ideals that defined Chris Ramsey.

Happy Father's Day!