FRESNO, CA (KMJ) -Big Brothers Big Sisters joins forces with Fresno County Law Enforcement to mentor Valley kids.
The program Bigs in Blue kicked off at Fresno City Council on Wednesday, October 18th, with Congressman Jim Costa in attendance.
Madera was first in the Valley to partner kids with mentors from law agencies, and now The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, Fresno Police Department, Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, Fresno County Probation Department, Fresno Unified School District and Central Unified School District will become partners together for the Bigs in Blue program.
Chief Jerry Dyer says the need in Fresno in tremendous with 20,000 gang members there is no shortage of kids ages 6-17 who can benefit from an adult mentor that the Bigs in Blue offers.
Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said many times it’s the first contact children have with a member of law enforcement.
Executive director Diane Phakonekham says if it turns into a competition of which law agency can have the most volunteers with the program, then that’s OK with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
