Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Joseph County announces merger

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind.--- Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Joseph County is merging with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lower West Michigan. The merger will take place January 1st of 2020.

Officials say this merger came came about to help give resources to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Lower West Michigan. Staff from that branch will be transferred to the St. Joseph County branch and there will also be more staff hired to accommodate the merger.

The merger also looks to aid fundraising efforts of the Lower West Michigan chapter and provide consistent messaging throughout the region. "This way we can combine our efforts, send out consistent messaging across the region and really help develop more relationships with little kids so they can get a mentor and realize their full potential," said Bill Carnegie, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Joseph County. 

Carnegie says this merger will also help provide access to more mentor-mentee relationships throughout the region. "The real focus here is on kids, "said Carnegie, "We’ve got children, both in lower Michigan and in Northern Indiana right now, that are awaiting mentor relationships  with adults this merger will help us be able to do recruitment on a larger scale."