Big Brothers Big Sisters in Louisiana operates through multiple regional chapters serving communities across the state. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Louisiana (BBBS SWLA, bbbswla.org) celebrated 45 years of service in 2024 (founded 1979) and serves Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jeff Davis, and Vernon parishes; Erin Davison serves as CEO (Gulf Coast Sequestration donated $30,000 in March 2024 to fund mentoring programs in North Lake Charles). Jillian Cormier was named the new CEO of BBBS Southwest Louisiana in early 2025, succeeding the interim leadership period that began October 2024, with Board Chair Erica Martin leading the board process. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Acadiana and Greater New Orleans, led by CEO Kalli Christ (since 2017), made major news when it relaunched the Greater New Orleans chapter in January 2025 after a 12-year absence caused by the closure that followed Hurricane Katrina in 2013. The New Orleans Saints participated in a BBBS event at Benson Tower on November 12, 2024, with NFL Hall of Famer Aeneas Williams and Saints President Dennis Lauscha in attendance. The Greater New Orleans relaunch was backed by $1 million in seed funding from private donors committed over five years.
Big Brothers Big Sisters in Louisiana transforms lives through impactful mentoring for youth ages 6-18 across the state. The BBBS model pairs children with compassionate adult mentors, supporting growth and confidence through the power of consistent, caring adult relationships. Research shows that long-term impacts of mentorships can lead to improved economic mobility, self-confidence, and emotional well-being. A 2024 Harvard University study found evidence of higher college enrollment rates, reduced dependency on social services, and better behavioral outcomes for mentored youth.
Louisiana's BBBS network faces distinctive local challenges: the post-Katrina damage to New Orleans' nonprofit infrastructure, the ongoing economic pressures in southwest Louisiana's oil and gas economy, and the specific demographic needs of Louisiana's diverse communities across Black, White, Cajun, Hispanic, and other populations.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Louisiana celebrated its 45th year of service in 2024 (founded 1979). BBBS SWLA facilitates meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers and children ages 6 to 18 in Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jeff Davis, and Vernon parishes. The six-parish service area covers the southwest corner of Louisiana centered on Lake Charles, the regional hub.
BBBS SWLA describes itself as the region's largest donor and volunteer-supported 1-to-1 mentoring network. The 45-year history in Southwest Louisiana has built deep community relationships, corporate partnerships with the region's petrochemical and energy industry employers, and local government partnerships that sustain operations through the economic cycles of the oil and gas industry.
In March 2024, Gulf Coast Sequestration (GCS) donated $30,000 to fund targeted youth mentoring programs in North Lake Charles. GCS Founder and Executive Chairman W. Gray Stream presented the donation directly to BBBS SWLA CEO Erin Davison. Stream explained the personal significance: "Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Louisiana holds a special place in my heart. Through my own experience as a Big, I have seen firsthand the benefits it can have on everyone involved. Mentoring is a powerful way to build a stronger community and develop our future leaders."
The targeted North Lake Charles programming reflects the specific geographic need in historically underserved neighborhoods within the Lake Charles metro. GCS is the leading carbon sequestration solution in the United States, based in Southwest Louisiana, making the BBBS SWLA partnership a natural fit for a company whose mission involves improving conditions for current and future generations in the region.
Jillian Cormier was named CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Louisiana in early 2025, having handled interim CEO duties since October 2024. Cormier was introduced publicly at the 2025 Big Defender Luncheon, where she appeared in a new dark suit purchased right before the event. When a store assistant asked what she needed the suit for and Cormier explained she was CEO, she admitted that telling others her title was still new to her.
The board voted to name Cormier permanent CEO after the 11-member board interviewed candidates during her interim period. Board Chair Erica Martin described her: "Capable" was the first word Martin used. "Based on the work we've seen from her, and her plans for the future, she will be a great asset in growing the agency." The 2025 Big Defender Luncheon awards included the Ben Terry Big Brother of the Year Award to Patrick Hill, the Faye Robinson Big Sister of the Year Award to Lauren Theriot, and the Community Champion Award to Michael T. Smith.
At its peak, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater New Orleans served more than 1,000 mentoring matches. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, funding and participation dwindled in the decade that followed. The previous chapter, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeast Louisiana, closed in 2013, leaving New Orleans as one of the only major American cities without a BBBS chapter.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater New Orleans relaunched in January 2025, ending the 12-year absence. The relaunch marked an end to New Orleans being the only major city without a program chapter, adding to more than 250 chapters across the US. National program leadership and local stakeholders helped raise $1 million in seed funding committed by private donors to use over five years. Since the relaunch, the organization has made 15 matches.
Kalli Christ serves as CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Acadiana and Greater New Orleans. She has been in the role since 2017, with the organization serving Acadiana (the Lafayette area and surrounding Cajun communities) throughout her tenure before the New Orleans relaunch. At the time of the Greater New Orleans relaunch, national BBBS data showed a 7 percent increase in Black males volunteering, a critical demographic given that many children waiting are boys of color.
Christ has framed the need bluntly: "There are 81,000 kids in New Orleans that face enormous adversities. We need 81,000 volunteers to step up and say they are ready to commit, commit to spending time with a young person, but what I would tell someone is you don't have to be perfect to be a mentor, you just have to be present." The Greater New Orleans relaunch brings BBBS mentoring back to a city with high rates of youth poverty, crime exposure, and educational disruption.
New Orleans Saints President Dennis Lauscha and several Saints players participated in a BBBS event at Benson Tower on Tuesday, November 12, 2024. NFL Pro Football Hall of Famer and New Orleans native Aeneas Williams was also in attendance. The event supported the organization's mission of mentoring and empowering Louisiana's youth.
The Saints partnership reflects the broader community engagement role that New Orleans's NFL franchise plays in supporting Louisiana youth organizations. The Benson Tower event location (the Saints' administrative offices and Mercedes-Benz Superdome complex vicinity) provided high-profile visibility for BBBS's return to New Orleans.
BBBS Greater New Orleans offers two types of mentoring opportunities. The school-based option has the mentor visiting the Little's school and meeting with them weekly during the school year. The community-based option brings the child and mentor together for an activity for two to three hours a month. Christ described the range of activities: "Spending time together over pizza, 15 minutes over a cup of coffee or 30 minutes of playing football."
BBBS SWLA's community-based model matches Bigs with Littles ages 6-18 across the six-parish service area in southwest Louisiana. The match is paired based on shared interests, geographic proximity, and the specific mentoring needs identified during the enrollment process. A corporate site-based program matches employees with students at a partner school, meeting in a group setting at the corporate partner's location.
For Southwest Louisiana, visit bbbswla.org. For Acadiana and Greater New Orleans, interested parties can visit bbbs.org or contact the organization through the channels established at the January 2025 relaunch. Christ's message to prospective Bigs: "You don't have to be perfect to be a mentor, you just have to be present."
For BBBS Southwest Louisiana, donate at bbbswla.org. For BBBS of Acadiana and Greater New Orleans, the $1 million private donor seed fund for the five-year New Orleans relaunch period established the initial funding foundation; additional donations support the ongoing growth from the current 15 matches toward the 1,000+ peak the chapter once served. Both organizations are 501(c)(3) tax-exempt. Corporate partnerships including Gulf Coast Sequestration and the New Orleans Saints provide sustained revenue.
Both BBBS Louisiana organizations file separate Form 990s from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Match Support Specialist staffing is the primary operating cost. BBBS SWLA's six-parish service area requires Match Support Specialists placed across the Lake Charles region. BBBS Greater New Orleans is in its early phase (15 matches at relaunch) with costs scaling as the match count grows toward the 1,000+ historical peak.
For pure scale of youth-serving nonprofit infrastructure in Louisiana, Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana and other statewide youth-serving nonprofits reach more children through after-school programming. For one-to-one structured mentoring specifically, the BBBS network in Louisiana represents the largest single channel across both BBBS SWLA's six-parish southwest coverage and BBBS Acadiana and Greater New Orleans's central and south Louisiana coverage.
Louisiana BBBS's specific angles: the BBBS SWLA 45-year institutional history in southwest Louisiana, the Gulf Coast Sequestration corporate partnership, the New Orleans relaunch (one of the most significant BBBS chapter reopenings in the network's history), the $1 million seed fund backing the Greater New Orleans chapter, the Saints event with Aeneas Williams and Dennis Lauscha providing public endorsement, and the Kalli Christ "you just have to be present" mentoring philosophy.
Last updated May 2026. BBBS Southwest Louisiana 45 years in 2024 (founded 1979), facilitates meaningful monitored matches between adult volunteers and children ages 6-18 in Allen Beauregard Calcasieu Cameron Jeff Davis Vernon parishes, region's largest donor and volunteer supported 1-to-1 mentoring network, from the Gulf Coast Sequestration EINPresswire March 2024 announcement. Gulf Coast Sequestration CEO and Chairman W. Gray Stream donated $30,000 to BBBS SWLA CEO Erin Davison for targeted mentoring programs in North Lake Charles in March 2024, Stream quote about Big Brothers Big Sisters holding special place in his heart through his own experience as a Big, from the GCS EINPresswire March 2024 article. Jillian Cormier named CEO of BBBS Southwest Louisiana in early 2025 after handling interim duties since October 2024, Board Chair Erica Martin quote calling her capable, Cormier story about purchasing dark suit for 2025 Big Defender Luncheon introduction, 2025 Big Defender Luncheon awards (Ben Terry Big Brother of Year to Patrick Hill, Faye Robinson Big Sister of Year to Lauren Theriot, Community Champion to Michael T. Smith), from the American Press February 2, 2025 article. BBBS Greater New Orleans relaunched January 2025 after 12-year absence (previous chapter Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeast Louisiana closed 2013 as funding and participation dwindled decade after Hurricane Katrina), ending New Orleans being only major city without a BBBS chapter, $1 million seed funding from private donors over 5 years, from the Nola.com June 2025 article and WGNO.com February 2025 article. Kalli Christ as CEO of BBBS Acadiana and Greater New Orleans since 2017, quote about 81,000 kids in New Orleans facing enormous adversities needing volunteers, 15 matches since relaunch, 7 percent increase in Black males volunteering nationally, two types of mentoring (school-based weekly visit and community-based 2-3 hours/month activity), Christ quote about spending time over pizza 15 minutes over coffee 30 minutes playing football, from the WGNO.com and Good News Network March 2025 articles. New Orleans Saints President Dennis Lauscha and several players at BBBS event at Benson Tower November 12 2024 with NFL Hall of Famer New Orleans native Aeneas Williams, from the New Orleans Saints website November 2024 photo gallery. 2024 Harvard University study showing higher college enrollment rates, reduced social services dependency, better behavioral outcomes for mentored youth, from the Nola.com June 2025 article. We are not affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Louisiana and receive no compensation for this listing. Errors: [email protected]
More Louisiana and donation resources