Big Brother Big Sisters Grand Opening Celebration

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF GREATER LOS ANGELES

HOSTS THEIR BIG LAUNCH GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION

OF NEW OFFICES AT GOODWILL COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT CENTER

60 YEAR-OLD ORGANIZATION PARTNERS WITH GOODWILL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles – (March 27, 2015) Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles (Big Brothers Big Sisters) celebrates the grand opening of its new offices at the Goodwill Southern California (Goodwill) Community Enrichment Center at Fletcher Square with an opening party, Saturday, March 28th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (3150 N. San Fernando Road, Los Angeles). The public is invited to share in the family-friendly festivities which will include a host of fun activities including games, face painting, Clippers and Dodgers ticket giveaways, KIIS FM van appearance with Manny on the Streets, Cousins Maine Lobster and Kona Ice food trucks and more. Admission is free.

Marking our 60th anniversary, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles provides children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships that have proven to change their lives for better, forever. “Partnering with Goodwill,” said Big Brothers Big Sisters President and Chief Executive Officer, Tiffany Siart, “will afford us an opportunity to grow sustainably, expand our reach and transform more lives. It is our vision to significantly increase our capacity to reach more children in high need areas while making a deeper investment in our community.”

“We are proud to welcome Big Brothers Big Sisters to our Community Enrichment Center. Their 60-year history of service and success is remarkable and they are an ideal partner. Together, Goodwill and Big Brothers Big Sisters will extend essential, complementary services that shape brighter futures for our youth and all members of the community,” said Craig Smith, GSC President and Chief Executive Officer.

Co-locating with Goodwill affords Big Brothers Big Sisters and our families a host of benefits including workforce development, career training and placement programming. Co-locating will also provide partners with priority access to the Community Enrichment Center’s state-of-the-art facilities, allowing Big Brothers Big Sisters to offer trainings, orientations, workshops and events, as well as hold staff and board meetings onsite. None of this would have been possible without our funding partners – The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, The Rose Hills Foundation, Weingart Foundation and Union Bank – who saw the vision for how this move is leading us to build a stronger and more sustainable future for both organizations.

“The Parsons Foundation was delighted to make this investment in the capacity of this cornerstone youth-serving organization;” stated Wendy Garen, President and CEO of The Parsons Foundation “they are ‘leaning in’ as an institution, working efficiently and effectively in a collaborative way to serve the needs of young people. We’re proud to be a part of this important project.”

The Community Enrichment Center at Fletcher Square was designed to empower the surrounding community by directly addressing the gaps in education and employment that many struggle with. A Community Needs Assessment determined 46% of residents in the surrounding area have only a high school diploma or less. To better address the region’s poverty rate of 17%, occupational skill training and workforce development are also a priority. Given the high number of young, low-income families residing in its service area, co-location allows Big Brothers Big Sisters to offer a unique brand of outcomes-based mentoring as another resource to support Goodwill’s community-needs based model.

About Big Brother Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles

In 1955, Walt Disney and Meredith Willson founded Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles. One of the largest youth mentoring organizations in the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters has served children and families facing adversity. They provide one-to-one youth mentoring services, carefully screening volunteer mentors and matching them with youth, and provide ongoing support for the volunteers, mentees, families, schools, businesses and community partners. Children in the program improve their school performance, avoid risky behaviors and build higher self-esteem and aspirations. These outcomes are substantiated by rigorous independent evaluation methodology. Philanthropedia, a GuideStar company, recently named BBBS as the #1 high impact national nonprofit organization serving at-risk youth. To learn more, visit www.BBBSLA.org, follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bbbsla, Facebook at www.facebook.com/bbbsla and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/bbbsla.

About Goodwill Southern California

Transforming lives through the power of work, Goodwill Southern California (GSC) serves people with disabilities or other vocational challenges, as well as businesses, by providing education, training, work experience and job placement services. Each year, GSC prepares and places thousands of individuals into sustainable employment through programs and services offered at three campuses, Career Resource and AJCC WorkSource Centers, Deaf, Youth and Veteran Employment Programs throughout Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. GSC supports its mission with proceeds generated from 80 retail stores and 44 attended donation centers. Charity Navigator, an independent charity evaluator, has awarded GSC its highest four-star ranking for 13 consecutive years; largely due to the fact GSC spends 93 percent of its budget on programs and services. Committed to caring for the earth, in 2014 GSC diverted more than 100 million pounds of reusable or recyclable goods from landfills. Goodwill is Good For Everyone! 888-4-GOODWILL www.GoodwillSoCal.org.

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Contact:

Pam Giangregorio

Katy Sweet & Associates Public Relations

(310) 479-2333 / pam@katysweetpr.com