Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Coastal Empire has been notified it is one of 97 Big Brothers Big Sisters of America affiliate agencies that will receive a 2013-14 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquent Prevention pass-through grant. BBBSCE will receive $61,250 from BBBSA this month.

“We are thrilled and honored to receive this grant,” BBBSCE Executive Director John Kendricks said.

Grant recipients use the award to target three youth populations: youth who are involved with the juvenile justice system; youth who have active-duty military parents; and Tribal Youth on Native American Reservations.

“The intent of the grant is to reduce at-risk behaviors that lead to juvenile delinquency,” Kendricks said.

This award will allow BBBSCE to serve 15 children with active-duty military parents.

For example, BBBSCE soon will match a brother and sister in Hinesville whose mother will deploy for the third time in January.

“She is a single mother with three children, and her elderly mother will become their caregiver when she deploys. She enrolled her children because she is worried about the affects these deployments may have on her children’s education and behavior,” Kendricks said.