Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County has a new look aimed at recruiting more volunteers.
According to Jennifer Webster, executive director, the new look emphasizes the potential inherent in all children.
“The need in Franklin County for young people to have a role model is more urgent than ever,” said Webster. “To attract more volunteers of all generations, we needed a modernization of our brand to make an impact in the community and meet the need of the essential work of matching youth with mentors.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County, along with more than 270 Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliates across the country, unveiled the new, modern look and brand repositioning recently.
Webster said months of research, including focus groups with potential “Bigs,” as well as current Bigs, “Littles,” donors, staff and leadership showed that the brand was not effectively connecting with younger, prospective mentors or conveying the urgent mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
She said the organization is intentionally pivoting from messages of the importance of mentoring, to messages of the urgent need for adults in the community to step up to defend the potential of every child. The mission will remain the same, as will the core model of building bridges in communities by connecting one adult with one child and supporting that match at every stage, but the organization will focus on a child’s potential, and the role of adults in helping children achieve their best possible futures.
“In our community, we know that youth are facing numerous challenges,” Webster said. “Our organization’s new brand is designed to help us ensure we can serve more children in Franklin County by recruiting more volunteers. The opioid crisis, combined with serving the poorest county in Massachusetts, has significantly increased the need for mentors.”
Webster said the brand repositioning and new look are just the beginning. In the coming year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County will transition to a new, modern, nationwide technology system, participate in new training and use the new positioning to refocus efforts on recruiting local volunteers.