Last Updated on October 1, 2018 by cassnetwork
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cass County, Inc., a local nonprofit mentoring agency, is closing its doors after thirty-seven years of faithful service to the children of this community. The Board of Directors has approved the liquidation and dissolution of the agency, and plans to distribute all available assets later this fall to benefit the youth of Cass County.
The Directors engaged in much deliberation after Big Brothers Big Sisters of America announced new operational minimums affecting all of its 303 affiliates (“throughout the United States and Guam”). The minimums set forth, which pertain to revenue generated annually, number of full-time employees maintained, and quantity of children served each year, are more conducive to urban agencies. Effective January 2019, these new requirements are unattainable, not only for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cass County, but to similar agencies in size and location across the federation.
The agency’s Executive Director and the Board of Directors labored to achieve a creative solution to compliance, even taking meaningful measures to merge with another Big Brothers Big Sisters agency while retaining a local office and current services. However, with serious consideration as to the best interest of Cass County and the children in this community, the agency found no feasible route to continue operations as a Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliate. The forty program participants in active mentor-youth pairs will be notified of the closure and given the opportunity to meet with the Executive Director for any questions or concerns they may have. A final event will be held for the kids and their “big brothers” and “sisters.”
The Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cass County will approve a liquidation and dissolution plan that outlines an organized wind down of the agency’s current programs. These include a Community Based program in Logansport and a School Based program which exists in three elementary schools in Logansport and Royal Center.
Executive Director Rebecca McVay believes that the positive effects that current and past “Big” and “Little” relationships have had in this community will continue long after they will officially close with the agency. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cass County, Inc. was small, but for thirty-seven years the agency fulfilled its mission: to provide Cass County children facing adversity with one-to-one mentoring relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.
SOURCE: News release written by Rebecca McVay, Executive Director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cass County, Inc.