BOTHELL WA; Local activists picketed Big Brothers of King County annual fund raising golf tournament on August 25, 1997. Group spokesman J. L. Vance said "we are here to picket the poor management team of the local Big Brothers office." Mr. Vance went on to say "the local office had gone out of its way to cause harm to a little brother his mother and their family. To add insult the local office is now trying to cover up its actions."
The little brother and mother were kicked out of Big Brothers program without notice in May of this year. According to the mother, the match between her son the and his big brother was a 100% positive experience. The child and big brother had bonded very well. Then, one day without notice, the local office canceled the match. "They never once thought of the child," said the mother.
According to Vance, "All of the written policies of the Big Brothers agency were broken." The actions of this management team are reprehensible. For some reason, this agency has chosen to risk harming a child rather than follow their own written policies.
Since the match closure, the mother and big brother have been trying to get some reasonable explanation for the actions of the local authorities. To date, the local office has been unwilling to talk.
Black and white and color copies of these photos are available by e-mail.