Imagine a world where every child has someone who believes in them, encourages them, and reminds them of what’s possible. A world where every young person has a trusted mentor in their corner to celebrate successes, navigate challenges, and help them see their own potential. That’s the world Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine is working to create—one relationship, one child, and one mentor at a time.
For more than 30 years, the organization has been turning that vision into reality through one-to-one mentoring relationships that provide friendship, guidance, encouragement, and stability during some of the most formative years of a child’s life. In doing so, they help young people build confidence, overcome obstacles, and discover possibilities they may not have seen for themselves.
Founded in 1995, this nonprofit was built on a simple belief: mentorship can change the trajectory of a child’s life. More than three decades later, the organization has served over 10,000 youth throughout the region through meaningful connections with caring mentors who are committed to showing up, listening, and believing in their potential. They offer site-based, community-based, and group mentoring opportunities, each supported by regular staff check-ins with mentors, youth, and families. The result is more than a mentoring relationship—it is a foundation for confidence, resilience, and long-term success.
“Every child deserves another cheerleader…someone who can provide companionship, encouragement, guidance, and a different perspective when they need it.“
That work has never been more important. Today, dozens of children across Cumberland and York counties are waiting to be matched with a mentor, a reminder that the need for supportive mentor relationships continues to outpace the number of available volunteers.
The organization’s mission is straightforward but profound: to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of all youth. By connecting young people with caring mentors, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine helps remove obstacles, build confidence, and ensure every child has someone in their corner.
Program Director Miranda “Mandy” Hardy understands the power of mentoring from both a professional and personal perspective. As a Big for more than a decade, she has seen firsthand how meaningful relationships can make a difference.
“Every child deserves another cheerleader,” Mandy says. “Someone who can provide companionship, encouragement, guidance, and a different perspective when they need it.”
While parents and guardians remain a child’s primary support system, mentors bring something uniquely valuable. They offer a safe space for young people to ask questions, process emotions, and talk through challenges with someone outside their immediate family. Sometimes that outside support can make all the difference.
Mandy recalls a young person who was struggling emotionally and unsure how to make sense of what he was feeling. With patience and compassion, his mentor helped him process those emotions and feel heard, demonstrating the powerful role mentors can play during difficult moments.
Moments like these happen every day through Big Brothers Big Sisters programs. Some are life-changing. Others are found in the simple joy of a shared activity or conversation. Together, they form the foundation of relationships that can leave a lasting impact for years to come.
Eileen Veroneau Brown, Director of Development and Communications for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine, is also a Big. Since being matched with her Little when she was in kindergarten, she has had the privilege of watching a young girl grow into a confident teenager preparing to enter eighth grade in the fall of 2026. What began as a site-based match has evolved into a lasting connection filled with shared experiences, meaningful conversations, and even plans for her Little to teach Eileen how to fish. For Eileen, watching her Little’s confidence blossom over the years has been one of the relationship’s greatest rewards and a powerful reminder of the impact a caring mentor can have in a child’s life.
That same impact is something Mandy has experienced firsthand. As a Big for more than a decade, she is currently matched with a teenager whose love of music, cats, and soft pretzels has shaped a unique relationship built on patience and trust. Their outings are often simple—listening to music, trying a new activity, or searching for the best soft pretzel in Maine—but Mandy says the real value isn’t found in the activity itself. Through mentoring, she has gained a deeper appreciation for the resilience and joy that young people bring to the world while reconnecting with a sense of wonder she might otherwise have forgotten.
It’s a sentiment she often hears from other Bigs. While mentors join the program hoping to change a child’s life, many discover they are changed as well—gaining new perspectives, finding renewed purpose, and fulfillment in becoming part of something larger than themselves.
A Little’s Reflection
As she prepared to graduate from high school after nearly five years in the program, one former Little reflected on the impact her Big had on her life during a difficult chapter of her journey.
“Being matched with her is an opportunity I’ll never forget,” she shared.
Reflecting on their years together, she says the relationship helped shape the person she has become.
“It’s a lifetime impact. I’ll carry a piece of this match and every lesson I learned for the rest of my life.”
“She taught me to be more comfortable and confident in myself,” she said. “She has really helped me grow into who I am today.”
“It’s a lifetime impact. I’ll carry a piece of this match and every lesson I learned for the rest of my life.”
Her relationship with her Big not only helped her overcome challenges and grow in confidence but also inspired her to one day become a Big herself. It is the ripple effect Big Brothers Big Sisters hopes to create—one caring mentor investing in one young person, who is then inspired to positively impact the life of someone else.
The Role of Community Support
Community support is essential to making these matches possible. As a local affiliate of the National organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine raises the funds needed to support its local programs. Community partnerships play an important role in that effort, including Hannaford Helps Reusable Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good programs.
Through purchases made at participating Hannaford stores, shoppers throughout Southern Maine have helped generate thousands of dollars for Big Brothers Big Sisters programs. For Eileen, these programs are a reminder that meaningful change happens one relationship at a time and one community at a time. Every participating store represents another community partner helping to spread awareness, support local youth, and invest in stronger futures for children across Southern Maine.
Through purchases made at participating Hannaford stores, shoppers throughout Southern Maine have helped generate thousands of dollars for Big Brothers Big Sisters programs.
“Every store, every customer, every bag, and every bouquet becomes part of a larger story,” Eileen says. “It’s people coming together to support local children and strengthen the communities where they live.”
The funds received through Hannaford’s Reusable Bag and Bloomin’ 4 Good programs help support volunteer recruitment, match support, family engagement, and the resources needed to create successful mentoring relationships. Just as importantly, the programs help raise awareness of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine and the life-changing impact of mentorship. For Eileen, partnerships like these represent the power of communities coming together around a shared commitment to local youth. Whether someone purchases a reusable bag, buys a bouquet of flowers, signs up to become a mentor, makes a donation, or simply shares the organization’s story, every action helps create opportunities for children to thrive.
Looking ahead
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine is entering an exciting new chapter with new leadership, plans for a new office location, and continued efforts to expand its reach throughout the region. The organization remains focused on growing its volunteer base and strengthening the community partnerships that make its work possible.
Yet even as it grows, its greatest need remains unchanged: finding more volunteers so every child waiting for a Big has the opportunity to experience a life-changing connection.
Imagine a future where every child knows they are valued, supported, and capable of achieving great things.
Not everyone can become a Big today. Not everyone can make a financial contribution. But everyone can help raise awareness, share the organization’s story, encourage someone to volunteer, or help a child find support and encouragement through a trusted mentor. After all, lasting change rarely happens all at once. It happens when relationships, partnerships, and communities come together with a shared commitment to investing in our children—and in the future we all aspire to create.
Imagine a future where every child knows they are valued, supported, and capable of achieving great things.
Published August 4, 2026.