Andover's Mark Coneeny Goes from Decades-Long Donor to First-Time Big

ANDOVER, Mass. — Mark Coneeny bought his first table at a Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts gala in the mid-1990s because a client asked him to, not because he had any particular tie to the mission. He was a relationship manager for Putnam Investments at the time, working with LPL Financial, and buying the table was simply good business.

Three decades later, the Andover resident has run the full course with the organization: gala committee member, board of directors from the early 2000s through 2013, and now Chair of the Board of Advisors. After retiring in 2024 following a 36-year career at Putnam, he took the step he'd never taken in all those years of involvement. He became a volunteer mentor, or Big, himself, matched through the Big Futures Mentoring program with a high school senior in Revere.

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"I've been part of this agency for thirty years, and I always thought of it like a second family, the people, the mission, all of it," says Coneeny. "But nothing prepared me for what it feels like to actually sit across from your Little and watch him open up to you. You realize pretty quickly this isn't charity. It's a relationship, and it changes you as much as it changes him."

Coneeny's mentoring debut comes as the nonprofit prepares for its annual Big Golf Tournament on September 17 at Juniper Hill Golf Course, an event that has raised more than half a million dollars for youth mentoring across Eastern Massachusetts since 2003. Now in his second year on the Big Golf committee, Coneeny has spent years recruiting golfers and donors for the tournament even though he doesn't play himself. He shows up for the social hour afterward and talks up the cause to anyone who'll listen, friends, former colleagues, and other attendees. This year's tournament is tracking toward a record number of golfers, with organizers closing in on a $120,000 fundraising goal.

"Mark has given this agency nearly every kind of support a person can give, his time, his network, his leadership, and now he's giving a young person his time every week as a mentor," says Mark O'Donnell, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts. "That kind of long-term commitment is rare, and it's exactly what makes our matches work."

For more information, to become a volunteer, or to register your children, visit: www.emassbigs.org.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts is an innovative, energetic organization that is making a real difference in the lives of over 4,000 youth annually by providing them with an invested, caring adult mentor in long-term, professionally supported relationships. With research and proven outcomes at its core, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts is working to defend the potential of children facing adversity and ensure every child has the support from caring adults that they need for healthy development and success in life. The organization's vision is to inspire, engage and transform communities in Eastern Massachusetts by helping youth achieve their full potential, contributing to healthier families, better schools, more confident futures and stronger communities. Throughout its 77 years, the largest Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliate in New England has created and served more than 25,000 youth. For more information about the agency and its mission, visit www.emassbigs.org.