Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa has been recognized as a 2022 Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Gold Standard Award winner. Every year, the BBBSA Nationwide Leadership Council, made up of local Big Brothers Big Sisters agency leaders and board members, selects agencies for excellence in the organization’s signature one-to-one youth mentoring program. Out of approximately 230 agencies across the country, BBBSCI is one of 12 organizations to receive this top honor. Last year, BBBSCI received recognition as a BBBSA Quality Award Winner. The Gold Standard Award recognizes agencies that have met the Quality Award criteria as well as increased their revenue and increased the number of mentors (“Bigs”) and youths (“Littles”) who are matched through the program, year over year. The Quality Award recognizes agencies that serve more than 100 children, raise at least $200,000 and achieve a 12-month retention rate above 73% for community-based matches and above 54% for site-based matches. In the past year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa has served 535 youths and increased its local services by 3%. “Receiving awards like this is important to our agency because it shows the impact we are having in the community,” said Bridget Cravens-Neely, CEO of BBBSCI. “This is not just a Big Brothers Big Sisters accomplishment. It is a Central Iowa accomplishment. We could not do this work without the dedicated mentors who volunteer their time and resources to nurture our youth.”