Story by Chris Graham
Dave Norris sort of fell into the lap of Big Brothers Big Sisters. And Big Brothers Big Sisters needed something to go right after its most trying year in its 30-year history.
“We are extremely optimistic about where we’re headed. Getting Dave on board was huge. We’ve had a year or more of struggles. Our funding streams just dried up. Bringing Dave on, he’s been able to do some organizational restructuring and rebuilding. We’re getting on the right track, definitely,” said Mike Kelley, the president of the board of the local Big Brothers Big Sisters, which hired Norris, the Charlottesville mayor and founding executive director of PACEM, a Charlottesville homeless shelter, in September.
Big Brothers Big Sisters, which matches adult mentors with children from single-parent families, “had basically run out of money needed to pay our bills” earlier this year, Kelley said, forcing layoffs of staff, including former executive director Judith Shuey, who had overseen the agency’s successful expansion into Charlottesville just last year.
The board kept the effort afloat for several months through entirely volunteer efforts. The addition of Norris, who jumped on board with BBBS in the midst of a re-election campaign in Charlottesville, is the first big step in the direction of a return to normalcy for the organization.
“I really think the sky is the limit for our agency,” said Kelley, pointing to Norris, who built PACEM from the ground up after serving as the associate director of Madison House at the University of Virginia, where he served as an advisor for the volunteer outfit’s big siblings program.
“For me, this is a chance of a lifetime,” Norris said of his appointment to the Big Brothers Big Sisters job. “It’s a great organization, it’s a cause that I care deeply about, and frankly it’s an organization that needed somebody to come in and do a little rebuilding, some organizational development, some bridge-building, outreach, fundraising, things that I’ve done for other nonprofits.
“I’m excited to be able to use my skills to help rebuild this organization, which has a proud history here, particularly, on this side of the mountain, and a more recent history in Charlottesville, and really looking to grow it over time,” Norris said.
The focus for now is on the basics. Norris and the board are reaching out to past volunteers and donors – and reconnecting with matches.
“We have a tremendous responsibility to the children and families that we serve and the volunteers that we serve to make sure that the children are safe, and that they’re experiencing a positive relationship with an adult role model. And we made a commitment that we would not put that safety in jeopardy. If we thought we could not ensure that safety, we would close our doors. It took a lot of work on the board’s part to make sure that we’re still here,” Kelley said.
Down the road – “We want to take on a more regional focus,” Norris said.
“The base has been here in Waynesboro for 30 years now. The Charlottesville office is about a year old. My goal is to move it beyond, This is a Charlottesville organization, this is a Waynesboro organization. It’s a regional organization. Our territory runs all the way to the West Virginia border, and there’s a lot of kids in this region who need help. And I think we’re in a position where, through volunteers and community support, we can really make a big difference in the lives of kids,” Norris said.
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