BBBSH History In February 1963, Hawai‘i Judge Gerald R. Corbett summoned a group of civic-minded gentlemen to his chambers at Juvenile Court to address a common concern over the rise in cases of "fatherless boys" involved in juvenile delinquency, truancy, and public disturbances. Their solution: establish an organization on O‘ahu where qualified and dedicated role models could extend themselves to youth in need of guidance and support through one-to-one friendships. Judge Corbett believed that individualized guidance from role models would inspire troubled youth to consciously engage in positive over negative behavior. As a result, Big Brothers of Hawai‘i was officially incorporated in March 1963.
Big Brothers of Hawai‘i raised funds, established operating policies, and recruited qualified males who were willing to serve as "Big Brothers" to boys, or "Littles", in need of friendship. On October 27, 1964, the first Big Brother-Little Brother match was made between Henry Sumida, an energetic male volunteer, and 10 year-old Dennis Brown. Henry would continue serving the community as a Big Brother for over twenty years before serving on the Board of Directors. Dennis pursued a career in social services and in 1998 began to serve as President/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu, Inc., nineteen years after Big Brothers of Hawai‘i and Big Sisters Hawai‘i merged.
Big Brothers of Maui was founded in 1969 by a group of community-minded individuals who were concerned that the children with the highest percentage of delinquency were fatherless boys so the organization was formed as a community project to provide these boys with positive role models and mentors. Big Brothers of Maui embarked on a pilot study of the Big Sisters program, and after great success formally became Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui in January of 1977.
On July 1st, 2012, independent agencies Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu, Maui, and Kaua‘i unified as the statewide organization Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawai‘i. We serve keiki, fostering meaningful, one-to-one mentoring relationships for at-risk children on these islands. These relationships have the potential to change a child’s life and the lives of everyone they interact with for the better, forever.
