Portland, January 24th, 2013. There was a call to action at the Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest’s Evening of Impact. The event was sponsored by the agency’s African American Advisory Board. Big Brother Walter Fuller of Nike was honored with the Rob Ingram Impact Award. He’s pictured with Chabre Vickers of BBBS, his wife Jocelyn and son. (Photo credit, Al Sigala)
Over a hundred community, business, and educational leaders gathered to honor those who have made an impact in the African American community by supporting efforts to serve more children with a Big Brother or Sister. The event raised funsd to establish the Rob Ingram Impact Fund which will be used to support mentoring efforts in the African American community. The award is named for Rob Ingram, a former Big Brother and president of the African American Advisory Board who passed away in 2011.
Special awards were also presented including the Community Impact Award which was presented to the EMBODI Program for its efforts in recruiting more mentors, the Corporate Impact Award, which was presented to NW Natural for its support of Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Rob Ingram Impact Award which went to Big Brother Walter Fuller of Nike.
The African American Advisory Board works with Big Brothers Big Sisters to help recruit more African American volunteers and to ensure the agency’s approaches are culturally relevant, strategic and sustainable for the future.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest:
Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest provides children experiencing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. The agency serves Clackamas, Clark, Cowlitz, Multnomah, Skamania, Wahkiakum and Washington counties. In 2012, Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest supported over 2,200 children — and the volunteer mentors who serve them, making it the largest Big Brothers Big Sisters agency on the west coast and 9th largest nationwide.