40 years ago, Clancy King, a local Salina attorney, who through his work with the juvenile judicial system, saw that kids needed a positive mentor rather than incarceration. When the agency started in 1968, the core purpose was to serve boys through male volunteers, also known as Big Brothers. The age of boys served were between 6 and 17 who were either in trouble with the law, or didn’t have a father due to a father's death or divorce.

Clancy felt concern for these boys and he wasn’t satisfied with what could be done for boys in trouble. He thought something more was needed. Something that would add a personal touch and show these boys that people really care about what happens. So he decided to do something about it by starting a local Big Brothers program. After talking with other groups and individuals in the community, Clancy found another need. Boys who needed male guidance for other reasons totally apart from delinquent or police problems. He then began to structure the program to include Little Brothers who needed male guidance beyond delinquent behaviors.

On May 13, 1968, Clancy called a special meeting of the key people who had indicated interest in this type of mentoring program. He explained the entire venture and suggested that it be bettered administered by a board of directors rather than one man. With that, he turned the project over to them. He also turned over a check for $50 to give the board some money to cover initial expenses while getting started. The concept grew to later include Big Sisters in 1969. On September 24, 1993, the agency reached full affiliation status with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

40 years later we now serve both boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 18. We serve children from all different backgrounds and their reasons for wanting a Big are for many different reasons. Opportunities for people to be Bigs has grown a lot as well. Not only can a Big and Little spend time together one-to-one, but volunteers have an option of being in a Couple’s Match, Two Bigs and a Little, or mentoring a child at school.
 

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