Big Brothers Big Sisters Services, Inc. has matched children with caring adult mentors in Virginia since 1962, when its Greater Richmond office became the organization's first in the state. Today it serves Central and Eastern Virginia through offices covering Greater Richmond, the Tri-Cities, the Virginia Peninsula, and Hampton Roads, offering community-based, site-based, and school-based mentoring. Ellie Martinez serves as executive director. Website bigbrobigsis.com; phone 804-261-4940.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Services matches a child (a Little) with a vetted 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, which research links to higher confidence, stronger school engagement, and resilience.
The agency delivers mentoring in three ways: community-based matches who meet on their own schedule, site-based mentoring at schools and community centers, and school-based mentoring during the school day. Offering all three lets it reach children in very different settings across a large region.
The agency's Richmond office supports community-based and site-based mentoring in Richmond City, Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover. The Tri-Cities office supports site-based mentoring in Hopewell, Petersburg, and Colonial Heights. The Hampton Roads office supports community-based mentoring in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Suffolk, plus school-based mentoring in Virginia Beach.
That footprint stretches from the state capital across the Tri-Cities and down to the coast, covering some of Virginia's largest and most populous communities.
Active in Richmond since 1962, Big Brothers Big Sisters Services is one of the longest-running mentoring agencies in Virginia. Its Greater Richmond office was the organization's first in the state, and the agency has since grown into a multi-region operation.
Ellie Martinez serves as executive director, leading the agency's work across Central and Eastern Virginia from its headquarters on Willow Lawn Drive in Richmond.
To become a Big, visit bigbrobigsis.com or call 804-261-4940. Volunteers complete an application and screening process, then are matched with a Little and supported by agency staff throughout the relationship.
Because the agency offers community-based, site-based, and school-based options, volunteers can choose a model that fits their schedule, whether that means meeting a Little independently or mentoring during the school day.
Donations can be made at bigbrobigsis.com. The agency is a 501(c)(3) organization, so gifts are tax-deductible. Corporate partnerships, foundation grants, and individual giving fund the mentoring work across the region.
Gifts that fund match support, the professional staff time behind each match, help keep relationships safe and effective over the long term.
Virginia has several mentoring and youth-serving organizations, including Boys and Girls Clubs and regional BBBS agencies in other parts of the state. For one-to-one, professionally supported mentoring across Central and Eastern Virginia, Big Brothers Big Sisters Services is the dedicated agency, with more than six decades of history.
Its three mentoring models complement group programs by giving a child a sustained individual relationship with a caring adult.
Last updated June 2026. Big Brothers Big Sisters Services history in Virginia (since 1962), Central and Eastern Virginia service area, regional offices (Greater Richmond, Tri-Cities, Virginia Peninsula, Hampton Roads), mentoring models, executive director Ellie Martinez, and Richmond headquarters from the agency (bigbrobigsis.com); EIN 54-0702502 from GuideStar and Cause IQ. We are not affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters Services and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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