The agency was founded as Big Brothers of Broward, Inc. on October 23rd by local community leaders. It matched boys with mentors in its Community-Based Mentoring program.
Big Brothers of Broward County was re-incorporated as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County on October 8th. The first board of directors included: Thomas V. Kigar, Howard Halfon, Paul D. Schumaker, Liz Copeland, Michael Sakso, Dr. H. Sweeting, Daniel J. Schevis, Iris Halfon, Martin Mann, Alan Grey, Charles Sheehan, Robert Dooley, Mark R. Fried, Thomas Petkevich and Virginia Bollinger. Thomas Kigar stepped up into the executive director role.
The Big Brothers Big Sisters Fishing Tournament was founded by John Weller, a boating industry veteran. The Fishing Tournament, now called BigFish, has taken place at Bahia Mar since then.
Taste of Fort Lauderdale was launched led by Board Members David Greenberger and Doug Jones. With 700 volunteers, they put together a small restaurant village Huizenga Plaza in Fort Lauderdale. Taste of Fort Lauderdale was Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County’s signature event through 1998.
Ana Cedeno joins Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County as Executive Director. At the time, the organization had a staff of 10, a budget of $355K, and two programs serving 175 youth.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County launches Share the Season which provides Thanksgiving meals and holiday gifts to Littles and their families. Share the Season continues to this day.
Community leaders Ed Rudner, who owned Renaissance Cruises, Janet and Jack Boyle, who co-owned Cellar Door Concerts and Sunrise Musical Theater, and Publix Supermarkets Charities became significant supporters. Other community leaders actively involved in volunteering and funding the agency were Linda Stepenovich with Barnett Bank, Kim Bentley with JM Family Enterprises, Gale Butler with Blockbuster, Cindy Stoddart with Comcast and Corina Biton with SunTrust.
The School-Based Mentoring program begins at Tedder Elementary in Pompano Beach. The program receives funding from the Florida Department of Education in 1999.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County was instrumental in the launch of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Association of Florida. The Department of Education contributed $1M to the start-up. From there, CEO Ana Cedeno and CFO Lisa Lachs created and managed the statewide program for the next 10 years.
Déjà Vu, an era-themed event with full concert, launches. Bahia Mar Resort hosted and underwrote the event for 8 years, thanks to then-manager Glenn Spanier and Director of Catering & Events and longtime supporter Trish Miracola. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward Board Member Doug Jones of Sixth Star Entertainment volunteered to produce the event. The first Déjà Vu featured a Tom Jones tribute artist.
Mentoring Children of Promise, a statewide initiative funded by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, was launched to serve children of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated parents.
Staff from Arby’s Corporation, including its CEO, mentored 25 youth from Walker Elementary, which became the foundation for the School-to-Work Mentoring program.
Swing for Kids’ Sake launches at Grand Oaks Country Club in Davie. David Greenberger and Barry Greenberger were responsible for bringing the tournament Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward.
Tom and Ginny Miller of Miller Construction chair a private, VIP, invitation-only event held aboard the Aurora mega yacht owned by founder and owner of Monster.com, Andrew Mckelvey. The event, with Football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann as guest of honor, raised $700,000.
After Swing for Kids’ Sakes moved to multiple locations, longtime board member John Corrado, brought the golf tournament to Weston Hills Country Club, where it has been hosted to date.
Women on the Verge was founded by Traci Miller of Miller Construction as a resource group to raise funds to provide educational financial assistance for college, vocational school and certification programs for the youth served by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County. BankUnited, then represented by Mary Harris, provided the initial $50,000 gift in support of the scholarship initiative.
Déjà Vu moves to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with the generous support of The Hard Rock’s VP of Community Affairs and Events and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward Board Member Susan Renneisen. To date, tribute acts had included Tina Turner, Elton John, Madonna and others.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County won Board of the Year Award, Agency of the Year Award and the Gold Standard Award from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America at its national conference in Chicago.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward attempts to break Guinness World Record for the largest swing set. Partnering with Backyard Discovery and 15 local companies, along with more than 300 volunteers, many from Comcast and Publix, the huge swing set was built at Markham Park. The 51 attached swing sets were twice the length of a football field, and all were delivered to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward families.
School to Work, which helps high school students understand career opportunities and learn the value of workplace skills, launches at two workplaces, including JM Family Enterprises.
Mentor and longtime Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward Board Member Chad Van Horn, pictured with his Little Desmond, wins Big Brothers Big Sisters of Florida Big Brother of the Year, out of 15,000 mentors statewide.
Myra Camino, mentor, staff member and cancer survivor, was named Big Sister of the Year in America for her outstanding mentorship of Little Sister Saleen.
BigPride, serving LGBTQ+ youth, was launched. The program and its first program manager was funded by a $55,000 grant from The Community Foundation of Broward.
Bigs in Blue was launched thanks to the efforts of Florida State Representative Michael Gottlieb and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County Board Member and attorney Keith Williams with the leadership of Chief of Police Albert A. (Butch) Arenal. The program launched with the announcement that 15 Coconut Creek Police officers had signed up to be Bigs.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County President and CEO Ana Cedeno retires. Under Cedeno’s leadership, staff was increased from 10 to 23, the budget increased from $335K to $1.8M, and the number of youth increased from 175 to 1,370.
Malena Mendez, who held multiple positions at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts for more than 18 years, joins Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward as President and CEO. Mendez brought significant experience in fundraising, sponsorship, marketing, events and relationship management to the agency. Mendez had long been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward as a founding member of Women on the Verge, a Déjà Vu Champion of Children Award winner, and a top fundraiser at LittleBig GlamSlam.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County was again recognized as a 2021 Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Gold Standard Award winner, one of 12 organizations out of 230 BBBSA agencies across the nation to receive this top honor.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward hosted its first BIG Thank You Breakfast during National Mentoring Month to celebrate its volunteer Bigs at a special breakfast honoring them for their commitment to serving as one-to-one mentors in the program.
Within eight months of taking the reins at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward, Mendez reported that 76% of children on the waitlist had been matched with mentors and $1.1 million was raised, far exceeding all expectations.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County received an unprecedented gift of $1.9 million from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, part of a $122.6 million donation given to Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the nation.
Road to 3,000 launched under the leadership of former Big Brother and now Board Chair Willy Gomez with the ambitious goal to serve 3,000 youth in our community to change more lives for the better, forever.
Women on the Verge hosts its first annual Friendsgiving. Since its inception, Women on the Verge had hosted a myriad of gatherings engaging hundreds of women including holiday Shopping Extravaganza, a VIP luncheon aboard Royal Caribbean’s Harmony ship, thanks to board member Kara Wallace, Little Big GlamSlam, plus fun get-togethers like karaoke and axe throwing, all with the intent to raise money for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward Scholarship fund.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward becomes a beneficiary of the Fort Lauderdale Turkey Trot, thanks to MedPro CEO Liz Tonkin.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward launches BIG Futures, a college and career readiness initiative designed to equip young people for post-secondary success through career mentoring, education, and access to key opportunities. In its initial year, more than $325k was awarded in scholarships.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County moves to expanded office space at 3511 W. Commercial Blvd., Ste. 200, in Fort Lauderdale.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward hosted the 2023 Big Brothers Big Sisters statewide conference offering compelling keynote speakers and multiple professional development sessions for approximately 100 Big Brothers Big Sisters leaders from across the state.
