Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado has been pairing kids with adult mentors longer than almost any nonprofit in the state. The work goes back to 1918, when Claude Blake started Big Brothers of Denver, and today the agency runs from two hubs: the Denver metro and the Pikes Peak region around Colorado Springs. Elycia Cook is CEO. In a typical year the agency matches somewhere between 1,500 and 1,650 young people through four programs, from the classic one-to-one outings model to a school-based peer program called STARS and a college-and-career track called Big Futures.
The core idea has not changed in over a hundred years. A child who could use another steady adult gets matched with a screened volunteer, and staff stay in the picture to support the match so it lasts. Colorado calls its volunteers Bigs and its kids Littles. Most Littles come from families that asked for the match, often single-parent households, and the agency leans on professional staff to handle screening, pairing, and the regular check-ins that keep a relationship healthy. What sets the Colorado affiliate apart from many is its age: founded in 1918, it is one of the oldest continuously running Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in the country.
Elycia Cook serves as CEO and is a recognizable figure in Denver's nonprofit world, having been featured among regional leaders at events such as the My Brother's Keeper and Sims-Fayola Foundation Summit. Her focus has been on keeping the agency's mentoring quality high while broadening who it reaches, particularly youth facing the steepest barriers. The agency points to outcome surveys showing its Littles are more likely to think about their future, feel close to a caring adult, and stay away from drugs, violence, and chronic school absence.
The two regions look different on the ground. Denver and its suburbs supply most of the volume, with a large and varied population and the deepest pool of corporate and foundation support. The Pikes Peak region around Colorado Springs has its own office and its own character, shaped by the military families connected to Fort Carson and the Air Force Academy and by a fast-growing population spreading south along the Front Range. Running a dedicated office there, rather than serving it remotely from Denver, lets the agency recruit local volunteers and build relationships with Colorado Springs schools and employers.
The traditional one-to-one match. A Big and Little meet on their own schedule for activities they choose together, supported by staff along the way.
Matches meet at a school or partner site. The fixed location removes transport and scheduling barriers for families and is often easier for busy volunteers.
A school-based, peer-to-peer group mentoring program that reaches more students than one-to-one matching alone can cover.
Support for high school students planning life after graduation: college applications, financial aid, training, and first jobs.
The path starts at biglittlecolorado.org with an application, then an interview and a background check. Staff look for a Little whose interests line up with yours and who lives close enough that meeting up does not become a chore. The standard ask is a commitment of about a year, because a match that ends early can do more harm than good for a child who has already had adults come and go. If a full one-to-one match is more than you can take on right now, the site-based and STARS programs are lighter ways in.
You can give directly at biglittlecolorado.org, and the agency takes part in ColoradoGives.org, the statewide giving platform that runs the annual Colorado Gives Day. As a 501(c)(3), it offers tax-deductible receipts. Because the agency runs its own programs rather than passing money up to a national body, gifts made in Colorado pay for matches in Colorado, which is worth knowing if local impact is what you are after.
Colorado has plenty of strong youth nonprofits, from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver to Denver Kids and a deep bench of after-school and sports programs. Those reach large numbers of children through group settings. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado plays a narrower but distinct role: the supported, one-to-one relationship that follows a single child over years. For a donor or volunteer who wants their effort tied to a specific kid rather than a program, and who values an agency with a century-long track record in the state, it is hard to beat.
Sources: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado website and about page (biglittlecolorado.org), the agency's ColoradoGives profile, and its nonprofit filings (EIN 23-7161796). Founding date and founder (Claude Blake, 1918) per the agency's published history. We are not affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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