Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rockland County: One Adult, One Child, and a Relationship That Can Last Eleven Years

Some of the most important work in Rockland County happens one afternoon at a time. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rockland County, headquartered in Nanuet, pairs children and teens ages 7 to 18 with screened adult mentors in one-to-one relationships that can last up to eleven years. The mission, in the organization's own words, is to build and support one-to-one relationships "to ignite the biggest possible futures."

What a match looks like is deliberately simple. Volunteer New York!, which lists the organization as a partner, puts it this way: becoming a Big is about "sharing simple activities with a child and creating magic-filled activities that become hallmark moments in a child's life" — a first trip to the beach, an afternoon at a ball game, a visit to the library or museum, a walk in the park, or ghost stories around a campfire. Behind every match, the organization's site notes, is a person who screens, creates, and facilitates the volunteer partnership to keep the child safe.

The work is not free to run. The organization says the average cost of each match is approximately $3,000 a year, covering the screening, matching, and ongoing support that keep a pairing going. That is why the community shows up for it: in June 2025, Rockland Nissan donated $2,500 to support the mentorship programs, and through October, Chipotle locations in Nanuet and West Nyack let customers round up their app orders to the organization.

That community calendar is still running. Tonight — Sunday, November 8 — FL!P Circus performs at 5 PM at Palisades Center in West Nyack, and the circus will donate $5 per ticket to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rockland County when buyers use the code BBBS. Just last week, the team hosted a Halloween party for its families at Crowne Plaza Suffern Mahwah, with help from local businesses including Bach to Rock Music School of Nanuet.

The ask is straightforward, and it is the same one the organization makes all year: become a Big, enroll a child, or donate to fund a match. The phone number is 845-317-6112, and the full details are at bbbsofrc.com. A few hours a month, a walk in the park, a ball game — small things, done steadily, for a kid who could use one more adult in their corner.