As a mentoring organization more than 100 years old, Big Brothers Big Sisters doesn’t have an issue with name recognition. But for the Central Indiana branch, the first floor of an insurance building north of downtown wasn’t the best home base for the thousand or so children the organization serves annually. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana (BBBSCI) is ready to unveil its new 20,000-square-foot headquarters and mentoring hub in downtown Indianapolis.
The goal is twofold: The renovated building at 1433 N. Meridian St. will allow trainings and programs to take place on site, rather than having to rely on friendly partners to provide a space, and making the organization more visible will hopefully attract volunteers so BBBSCI can cut into a waitlist that’s sitting steady at about 1,000 children right now.
“We’ve seen this demand for service really increase significantly,” said Darcy Palmer-Shultz, CEO of BBBSCI. “It’s great because it means families who know about Big Brothers Big Sisters want their kids involved, but on the other hand it’s telling us we need to be a better job meeting that demand.”
Palmer-Shultz said the goal is to have 1,500 children enrolled eventually, and she expects the organization to serve about 1,300 this year. The organization needs at least one volunteer for each student. BBBSCI — which serves Marion, Hamilton and Johnson counties — is showing off its new location to “Bigs” (volunteers) and “Littles” (children) June 1.
BBBSCI put $3 million into renovations, which started October 2018. It bought the two-story building a month earlier.
Palmer-Shultz said a new, more central location should allow BBBSCI to serve more children in the region, and once that happens, “we’ll know that we made a difference here and this was the right thing to do.”
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana has a new headquarters downtown that leaders hope will allow the organization to attract more volunteers and serve more children. (Photo provided)
