President Obama declares January 2010 National Mentoring Month.

MELBOURNE, 24 July 2009 Mr. Clive Hooke, Chairman, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Australia (BBBSA), today announced the appointment of Mr Keith Perkin as Chief Executive Officer, BBBSA.

Keith comes to BBBSA from the Starlight Children’s Foundation, where he served as Chief Operating Officer and will take up this position on 7 September 2009.

Along with his not-for-profit work, Keith has broad experience in the Australian corporate sector including roles as National CEO of Retravision Pty Ltd, Managing Director of the Dymocks Group of Companies and a number of senior management positions at BP Australia Ltd.

In making the announcement today, Clive Hooke said:

We welcome Keith to BBBSA and look forward to working with him to strategically expand our youth mentoring programs nationally. Keith has a great blend of senior corporate managerial experience and strong commitment to the not-for-profit sector in Australia. We are confident he will quickly develop strong working relationships with our Board, staff and Program Delivery Partners, along with key Government, corporate and other NGO stakeholders.

I am excited by the opportunity to lead Australia’s foremost youth mentoring organisation. BBBSA is committed to realising the potential of disadvantaged young Australians through the provision of the highest quality youth mentoring programs. Mr Perkin said.

With a commitment to strategically expanding and diversify its programs nationally over the next three years, I look forward to leading BBBSA as it implements the expansion plans, delivering world’s best practice youth mentoring programs.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is Australia’s leading mentoring program for young people supported by 100 years of international experience and expertise.

Click here to visit BBBS of Australia’s website.

I wanted to share this with you because it is important to me.

So many times, in this organization, we focus on the impact a “Big” has on a “Little;” rarely the other way around. I want to share with you a short story about me and my Little.

Eighteen months ago, I weighed in at a belt-busting 324lbs. Not to put too fine a point on it, I was fat. I was really big. Friends and relatives were scared as I approached 40 years old. I had my own epiphany for change on August 7, 2007, when I sat down to organize my 40th celebrations for the following May, and realized I was over 100lbs overweight. I decided to do something about it on that day.

On Saturday, I competed in the Bermuda International 10K. Weighing in at 221lbs and bringing it home in 1 hour and 19 minutes. You have to understand that I never, ever thought I would get here again. Three pant sizes and two shirt sizes down, and able to run again (something I had not done in twenty-one years). In September 2008, I decided I was going to compete, with the aim of finishing, not coming last and raising some funds for an international charity. I began rigorous training. As the date loomed, I realized how emotional this day was going to be for me if I managed to finish.

As I neared the stadium, the realization that I was going to make it came home and I began to get choked up. As I turned the last corner and headed into the stadium, standing right there at the gate was my Little Brother, waiting for me in the rain, waiting to cheer me on. He broke from the group and started running with me into the stadium. The officials stopped him before we could make the finish-line, but he came straight to me after and threw his arms around me.

I was going to be emotional anyway, but having Shawn there to share this moment with me made it so much better.

We have walked together on Horseshoe beach and he has complained in his Little Brother way that it’s a long way and he was awestruck that I had completed ten whole kilometres. I never thought there was a message here for Shawn, but there clearly is: Commitment.

Guess what? He now wants to come running with me and he’s talking about entering the race himself, perhaps next year.

BBBS of Russia’s flag was placed on the mountain by Mr. Sergey Sirotenko (PricewaterhouseCoopers), a former Big Brother and one of the most devoted Board members at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Russia.

This flag celebrates the innovative and positive work of BBBSR, which is focused on enhancing the quality of services provided to children-at-risk in Russia.