Big Brothers Big Sisters Association History

Early in the last century there was a movement to help the increasing number of children growing up in poverty and neglect. In 1903, Irwin Westheimer, a young Cincinnati businessman, reached out to help one such boy and became a trusted mentor and friend.

Determined to find a way to help more boys in similar situations, Westheimer proposed forming an “association with the view of bettering the conditions for the large number of neglected or delinquent Jewish boys in Cincinnati.” He and his contemporaries agreed to become mentors and act as “Big Brothers” to these boys. This concept of one-to-one mentoring remains the foundation of all Big Brother Big Sister programs.

In 1910 Westheimer, along with other concerned community members, founded the Big Brother Association of Cincinnati. The Agency grew rapidly and in 1915 it began promoting various activities such as the Little Brothers Baseball League and began offering scholarships and counseling.

In 1934 the Big Brother Association of Cincinnati affiliated its scholarship work with the Theresa M. Workum Scholarship Foundation, now sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. The Association became a Charter member of Big Brothers of America in 1958. In 1959 the Association began its affiliation with the Community Chest and Council, now known as United Way of Greater Cincinnati and in 1960 Big Brothers Association of Cincinnati began serving the needs of local girls.

Elsewhere in 1904, Ernst Coulter was thinking similarly to Irvin Westheimer. Through his work as a court clerk in the First Children's Court of New York he saw firsthand the harsh treatment of juveniles. Many of the boys came from fatherless homes and he believed a man’s positive influence could help curb a boy’s abnormal and criminal behavior. So, Coulter appealed to friends and community leaders and these men founded the New York Big Brothers.

In many cities, various women’s groups were concerned with girls growing up without positive female role models. In 1905, Mrs. John O’Keefe set up the Big Sister Program in New York City. She is known as the first Big Sister.

A Collaboration: Coulter and Westheimer were both influential in pushing for collaboration between different agencies, resulting in the first federation of Big Brother agencies in 1921. During the depression, the federation was dissolved, but after the depression, the Big Brother movement slowly regained momentum and in 1958, U.S. Congress officially charted Big Brothers of America.

Big Sisters International was chartered in 1970, and the two national organizations merged seven years later to become Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Today, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America includes over 400 affiliates around the country and Big Brothers Big Sisters International sponsors programs in countries around the world.