Submitted Article
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bradford County was recently awarded $205,547 in state funding to expand its mentoring program for at-risk youth in Bradford, Sullivan and Tioga counties, according to Rep. Tina Pickett (Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna).
The grant was made available through the Community Violence Prevention/Reduction Initiative and awarded by the School Safety and Security Committee.
Specifically, the grant will be used to establish a stable funding source for the mentoring program, which plans to hire a second specialist in order to increase the number of young people it serves. Big Brothers Big Sisters will also use the funding to create a new outreach called the “Amachi Program,” which will match children of incarcerated parents with adult mentors, often found through collaboration with area church congregations.
“Big Brothers Big Sisters does such great work in the three-county area, and I am pleased this program was approved for funding,” said Pickett. “The grant will allow the organization to reach even more young people and help them become responsible adults who contribute to the community.”
The School Safety and Security Committee awarded more than $7.5 million in Community Violence Prevention/Reduction grants to local governments, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations across the state. The 17-member committee within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency was created as part of a comprehensive school safety law passed by the General Assembly in 2018.