After 37 years of serving the community as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Livingston County, the agency will now be known as “Mentor Livingston”.

The organization will continue its mentoring program as an independent organization. Officials say they are excited to be able to continue to provide quality, professional support to youth and that the decision to separate from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) was primarily driven by economics and local needs.

A press release from Mentor Livingston Inc. states that the BBBSA model of one-to-one mentoring requires strict adherence to nationalized Standards of Practice for all affiliates. The release further states that over the years, the number of standards has increased, along with the cost of adhering to those requirements which put local school-based programs such as Big Futures, Lunch Buddies, and Rockin’ Readers at risk.

Officials say the decision to disaffiliate comes after considering what mentoring needs the county has, and it was concluded that the agency no longer wished to execute the BBBS model and needed to move in a different direction. Agency officials add they are proud of their past partnership with BBBSA and take with them the knowledge and experience gained from being part of that mentoring network.

Pictured: Staff Members Michelle Wagar, Shari Davis-Schoech, & Alyson Mapes