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President of Big Brothers Big Sister coming to Scott

  • Published
  • By Big Brother Big Sisters of America
  • Big Brother Big Sisters of America
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Military and civilian personnel at Scott AFB are invited to meet Karen Mathis, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. She will be at The Airman and Family Resource Center on Thursday, July 29th at 3:30 - 4:15 PM. to talk about the work Big Brothers Big Sisters is doing to provide mentors for children whose parents are deployed and efforts to recruit military volunteers.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is the nation's largest donor-based volunteer network of mentors for youth - a non-profit organization proven to help at-risk children beat the odds. Mathis has worked with all five branches of the U.S. military and lobbied successfully on behalf of servicemen and women, as well as their families.

Mathis is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Denver and received a law degree from the University of Colorado Law School. She has been honored by many organizations, including the National Network for Youth, the U.S. Air Force, and the National Association of Women Lawyers.

Mathis served as the third woman president of the American Bar Association, the world's
largest voluntary professional organization, where she created the Youth at Risk
program.

The local agency, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois, received a grant from the T. Boone Pickens Foundation to serve children whose parents are deployed by matching them with a mentor and to recruit new military volunteers. More than 40 military personnel at Scott AFB serve as Big Brother and Big Sister volunteers and 10 military children are enrolled in the program.

The local agency, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois is one of 22 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in the country that received a grant from the T. Boone Pickens Foundation to mentor children whose parents are deployed. The agency serves youth in St. Clair, Madison, Clinton and Monroe counties by providing them with a Big Brother or Big Sister mentor. Forty volunteers from Scott AFB serve as Big Brothers and Big Sisters volunteers and ten military children are enrolled in the program.

For information or to make a reservation for the July 29th meeting, call Michelle at 618 398-3162.