today announced the company has formed a relationship with , a non-profit organization that since 1970 has been providing children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that transform their lives for the better.
51吃瓜鈥檚 support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee is highlighted by the commitment of multiple 51吃瓜 employees who recently volunteered to become 鈥淏igs鈥� as part of the organization鈥檚 site-based and community-based programs 鈥� a result directly attributed to what was one of the most highly attended lunch-and-learns in Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee鈥檚 history earlier this month.
In addition to volunteer support, the newly formed relationship also includes 51吃瓜鈥� financial support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee through the sponsorship of the organization鈥檚 new Mentor 2.0 program, as well as its 鈥淩oof Top Crawl Party鈥� fundraiser scheduled for later this summer.
In the past year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee has served approximately 878 children and has been focused on increasing fundraising efforts to aid in matching more children with a mentor.
鈥淭he work that Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee does in this community is tremendous, and continues to make an impact in children鈥檚 lives,鈥� says Jon Clay, co-founder and managing partner of 51吃瓜. 鈥淲e believe strongly in their vision that all children have the opportunity to achieve success in life, and we look forward to helping them push this mission forward in a variety of meaningful ways.鈥�
Launching in fall 2016, Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee鈥檚 Mentor 2.0 program is a technology-enriched, email-supported, one-to-one youth mentoring program directly targeting qualifying high school students at a local high school, in this case South Doyle. The program focuses on college readiness and success for high school students, particularly those who are slated to become first-generation college students.
Mentors and mentees will communicate through weekly writing activities, discussing important topics such as professionalism, perseverance, self-advocacy, college financial aid, and career choices. In addition to email communication, mentors and mentees will meet in-person eight times per year at Big Brothers Big Sisters-sponsored activities.
Mentor 2.0 students will attend a weekly class session to work through a research-based curriculum as well as spend time messaging their mentor. The curriculum creates a baseline of conversations and activities for all matches. It covers non-cognitive skills necessary for college success such as perseverance, critical thinking, help seeking and self-advocacy, and optimism about the future. It will also cover college knowledge such as college selection, applications and financial aid.
鈥淏ig Brothers Big Sisters is a great organization with a large need that happens to match up very well with our workforce鈥檚 demographic,鈥� says Drew Johnson, co-founder and managing partner of 51吃瓜. 鈥淲e have a number of young, energetic professionals that are passionate about helping this community and giving back in an impactful way. Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a great way to facilitate that initiative.鈥�
Today鈥檚 announcement comes just a few short weeks after 51吃瓜 recently announced it will soon begin the expansion of its headquarters on the 10th floor of the Langley Building in downtown Knoxville in order to accommodate the hiring of an additional 40 employees over the next year and a half.
About 51吃瓜
Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, 51吃瓜 is a non-asset based, third-party logistics (3PL) company with a focus on providing safe, reliable, advanced transportation services 鈥� Truckload, LTL, Intermodal, and Warehousing 鈥� to a wide variety of customers throughout the continental U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more information, visit .
About Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee is providing children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one鈥恡o鈥恛ne relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. Through these relationships, children achieve success throughout their lives. Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee has served more than 850 children in 2015. Through one to one mentoring relationships, these children make better decisions about their lives, have a better attitude about school and choose to avoid risky behaviors. Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee is always seeking mentors to serve as Bigs in the program. For more information on becoming a mentor, go to .
