History

Brandon (Little) just hanging out with his Big Brother Donald at Great Salt Bay Community School

"We had great fun this year. Brandon has grown social skills that are imperative for function in everyday life. I love the time I'm able to spend with him."
-- Donald (Big)

The Big Brother movement started in 1904 in New York City. Mr. Ernest Coulter, a clerk in the New York City Children’s Court, addressed a group of business leaders regarding delinquent boys saying, “These boys’ only guilt is that they have been deprived of a basic childhood right—the right to a father’s love, understanding and example. It is a right which they and others like them may never receive unless men like you give it to them.” So impressed were the forty club members by Coulter’s words, they volunteered their services and the first Big Brothers Agency came into being.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Midcoast Maine (BBBSMCM) first provided services to children in the Boothbay region in 1978. It operated as an affiliate of the Boothbay Region YMCA as Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Boothbay Region. It received its charter as a Big Brothers Big Sisters of America agency in 1979. In 1988 it changed its name to Lincoln County Big Brothers Big Sisters which accompanied a move to its present location on Maine Street in Damariscotta. This proved to be a much more suitable location from which to serve a larger area.

In an effort to expand to Knox County, an office was opened at the Knox County Child Abuse and Neglect Council office in Rockland in 1990. When it closed, programs continued to be provided to Lincoln and Knox Counties as operations were consolidated into the Damariscotta office. Both geographic regions supplied the Agency with Board members, financial support, volunteer and youth to match. In March of 2000, an office was established in Belfast, to accommodate the addition of Waldo County to the service area. The office employed a program coordinator/case manager and VISTA member to maintain the programming in that county.

In Spring 2003, the agency transitioned from a longtime Executive Director, Bill Michaud, and operations were again consolidated into the Damariscotta office. In March 2005, after a transitional period of a few years, one of the original founders of BBBSMCM returned to help recruit new leadership. Since September of 2005, the new leadership has led to a renewed mission focus and strong, sustainable growth. The agency expanded its staff by securing a grant for two VISTA (Volunteer In Service To America) member positions in 2006 and hired a Director of Development in 2007. The result has been an increase in annual revenue, and most importantly, in youth served from less than 100 to over 350 throughout Knox, Lincoln and Waldo Counties.

Most recently, the agency opened new offices in Rockland during the fall of 2008 and Unity during the spring of 2009. Also, Lincoln County operations were moved to the Central Lincoln County YMCA. This new 3 county office structure, along with a Community-Based Mentoring Program Manager, School-Based Mentoring Program Manager, Director of Development and Executive Director, has placed the agency in a position to serve several hundred youth annually.

In September 2009, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Midcoast Maine unveiled their new website. We are most pleased to offer one central location where our Bigs, Littles, Families, Partners, Sponsors and Volunteers can visit to stay informed.