Jerry Martinson Big Sister Association of Greater Boston
Jerry Martinson, executive director of the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, has been a leader in the Boston community for more than 30 years. Her rare and powerful combination of commitment, energy, talent, and vision has helped Big Sister achieve success and acclaim while ensuring that the special needs of girls are heard and addressed.
Jerry’s involvement with Big Sister began in 1968, when she volunteered as a mentor. As her enthusiasm, involvement, and commitment to the agency intensified, she became a board member, and in 1972 she was elected board president. In 1984 Jerry was named codirector of the agency, a position she shared for five years until she assumed the role of executive director in 1989. Her experiences as a Big Sister volunteer enable Jerry to be a consummate spokesperson for the agency. . .and for mentoring. She knows firsthand that the Big Sister program “works”; her experiences being matched with a Little Sister are a source of inspiration to volunteers, board members, and donors alike.
Jerry is a founding member of the Girls’ Coalition and chaired its overseeing board from 1992 to 2004. She serves on a number of organizational boards, including those of the Girls’ Coalition of Greater Boston, Teen Voices/Women Express, the WGBH community advisory board, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Task Force on Services for Girls. She also served on the cabinet of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay for two years and was one of ten community leaders selected to represent the City of Boston delegation at the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future. In 2002 Jerry received the Rose Mary Kirwin award from the United Way. In 2004, she received the Pinnacle Award for nonprofit management from the Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Big Sister Association of Greater Boston
For more than 50 years, the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston has been helping girls achieve their full potential through positive mentoring relationships with women. The organization is best known for its traditional community-Based Mentoring program, in which girls (Little Sisters) are individually matched with caring and committed women volunteers (Big Sisters). The organization also offers opportunities for girls and women to learn from and about one another through a variety of other mentoring programs:
Amachi -- This exciting new program, launched in October 2003, is a part of Community-Based Mentoring. Through partnerships with faith-based community groups, Big Sister is recruiting volunteers to mentor daughters of incarcerated parents. The program's name derives from a Nigerian word meaning "Who knows what God has brought us through this child?”
Life Choices -- A group program for middle-school girls facilitated by Big Sister social work staff and M.S.W.-level interns. Girls meet weekly in schools and community sites to identify and explore important issues such as sexuality, peer pressure, drugs and alcohol, and career awareness.
TEAM (Team Enhanced Approach to Mentoring) -- This group program addresses issues similar to those in Life Choices, but brings together groups of girls and groups of women mentors. Groups meet weekly in middle and high schools throughout Greater Boston.
School-Based Mentoring -- Big Sister's newest program combines aspects of its community-based and site-based programs. Elementary-school girls are individually matched with women volunteers, who meet weekly with their Little Sisters at the girls' schools.
The time requirements and physical settings may vary for each of other mentoring models, but all of Big Sister's programs share a fundamental purpose: to nurture girls' innate strengths and validate girls' unique experiences. The programs help girls cultivate the confidence, competence, and caring they need to make healthy, responsible decisions in their lives and for their futures.
