Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson & Union Counties, based in Newark, serves three of the most populous counties in New Jersey, home to cities including Newark, Jersey City, and Elizabeth. The agency matches children (Littles) with screened adult volunteer mentors (Bigs) in one-to-one relationships supported by professional staff. Carlos Lejnieks serves as president and CEO and is a past chair of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Jersey. Website bigsandkids.org.
The agency matches a child (a Little) with a volunteer adult mentor (a Big) in a one-to-one relationship, supported by professional staff. The relationship gives a child a consistent, caring adult presence linked to higher confidence, school engagement, and resilience.
Serving dense, urban counties, the agency focuses on reaching children in cities where the need for stable adult mentors is high and where access to enrichment opportunities can be uneven.
Essex, Hudson, and Union counties are among the most populous in New Jersey and include some of the state's largest cities: Newark in Essex, Jersey City in Hudson, and Elizabeth in Union. Together they form a densely populated, diverse urban core just outside New York City.
Operating in this corridor means the agency works with families in major cities where mentoring can be a meaningful counterweight to the challenges of under-resourced schools and neighborhoods.
Carlos Lejnieks serves as president and CEO and is a past chair of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Jersey, the state association. His long tenure has given the Newark-based agency a recognizable public presence and deep ties to corporate and civic leaders across northern New Jersey.
That leadership continuity has helped the agency build the donor and volunteer relationships needed to sustain mentoring in a high-cost, high-need region.
The agency serves children across Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. The footprint is compact geographically but dense in population, so the agency can reach a large number of children within a relatively small area.
As in most BBBS agencies, demand for mentors exceeds supply, so recruiting screened adult volunteers, especially men, who are historically underrepresented among mentors, is an ongoing priority.
To become a Big, visit bigsandkids.org. Volunteers complete an application and screening process, then are matched with a Little and supported by agency staff throughout the relationship.
The agency offers mentoring models that fit different schedules, making it possible for working adults across the three counties to participate.
Donations can be made at bigsandkids.org. The agency is a 501(c)(3) organization, so gifts are tax-deductible. Corporate partnerships with the many employers in the Newark and Jersey City corridor, foundation grants, and individual giving fund the mentoring work.
Gifts that fund match support help the agency keep relationships safe and effective over the long term.
Northern New Jersey has many youth-serving organizations, including Boys and Girls Clubs and city-specific programs. For one-to-one, professionally supported mentoring across Essex, Hudson, and Union counties, this agency is the dedicated provider.
Its focus on sustained individual relationships complements the group programming that other organizations offer across the urban core.
Last updated June 2026. BBBS of Essex, Hudson & Union Counties service area (three of New Jersey's most populous counties: Essex, Hudson, Union), Newark base, and CEO Carlos Lejnieks (past chair of BBBS of New Jersey) from the agency (bigsandkids.org) and its leadership page; EIN 22-3676931 from ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. We are not affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson & Union Counties and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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