BBBS Chapter Awards Neora as “Ally of the Year”
Neora was honored as the Ally of the Year for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lone Star and Greater Dallas at the Women of the Year Luncheon on May 21. While it was a luncheon to honor women, it was Pierce Bush, CEO of the largest BBBS agency in the country, who broke down why BBBS is so important to Neora.
Big Brothers Big Sisters matches at-risk children with mentors who help children navigate life successfully. A fairly new program focuses on children whose parents are incarcerated – children who historically have a 70 to 90 percent chance of ending up in prison themselves. The statistics that Pierce Bush shared are proof that this program is working: 86 percent of the kids who go through the Amachi program enroll in college and 98 percent of the kids are either enrolled in college, employed or joined the military.
Neora’s partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters began in 2012 shortly after the company was founded. Neora established the Ripple Foundation, which is devoted to the vision of Making People Better on a global scale. Neora’s Brand Partners have embraced that vision and made it possible for Neora to contribute over $5 million to BBBS. The amount of contributions provided by the generosity of Neora and its Brand Partners has helped BBBS defend the potential of thousands of at-risk children in communities around the country. In addition to donations, hundreds of Brand Partners have joined corporate employees in becoming “Bigs” and have organized fundraising events to help further the ripple we created several years ago.
Neora Co-Founder and Chief Leadership Officer Renee Olson has been leading the charge from day one and cherishes her relationship with her “Little”, Ryan. Ryan has become part of the Olson family, joining Renee at holiday celebrations and on stage at Neora’s annual Get Real conference. Pride is evident in Renee’s voice when she describes meeting Ryan as a shy 9-year-old and watching her grow into a strong, confident teenager with big dreams and the determination to achieve those dreams.
The Neora Ripple Foundation has set a goal to raise over $500,000 in 2019 for Big Brothers Big Sisters and got a big boost toward that goal at this year’s Get Real Conference in Nashville, where Brand Partners donated $100,324 over three days.
Additional honorees
Woman of the Year: Harriet Miers
A partner at Locke Lord, LLC., Harriet Miers formerly served on the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2007 as Staff Secretary, Deputy Chief of Staff and Counsel to the president. Harriet’s journey with Big Brothers Big Sisters started as a Big Sister. She currently serves as Nominating and Governance Committee Chair on the BBBS Lone Star Executive Board.
Big Sister of the Year: Devoreaux Walton
Young Professional of the Year: Leah Williams
Neora is so thankful to all of our Brand Partners who have supported the Neora Ripple Foundation’s partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Please visit NeoraRipple.com to find out how you can get involved!
Such an inspiration to watch our Bigs & Littles grow!