Photo credit Hailey Photography
By Kharisma McIlwaine
When Marcus Allen took on the role of CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence (BBBSI) in April 2013, he was the first permanent CEO of color in that position. For the past decade-plus, Allen has dedicated his life to fostering mentorship opportunities for “Bigs” (adults) and “Littles” (young people) through Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence.
Marcus Allen (L) Jaron “Boots” Ennis
Photo credit Hailey Photography
One of the largest fundraisers BBBSI hosts each year is Fashion Touchdown, a fashion show that combines fashion and philanthropy to fund mentorship opportunities for young people. This year’s Fashion Touchdown, held at Ballroom at the Ben on November 18, with the presenting sponsor Marrone Law Firm, media sponsor NBCU Philadelphia and fashion sponsor Boyd’s, raised $270,000. The money raised will allow 100 Littles to be matched with Bigs and participate in mentorship for an entire year.
Allen spoke with the SUN about Fashion Touchdown, the importance of BBBSI, and the invaluable resources that the organization provides to the young people who are part of the program.
Allen became familiar with Big Brothers Big Sisters in his youth but discovered a great deal about the organization after taking on the CEO role.
“Seems like I’ve always known about Big Brothers Big Sisters — the brand and the name — but I really didn’t know what they did until I got the job,” Allen said. “I knew it had a lot to do with one-on-one mentoring. I didn’t know a lot of what I know now in terms of it being evidence-based, that it served mostly kids who live in poverty — I didn’t know a lot of those things.”
In 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters was founded in New York to help the court system avoid sending young boys away to reformatory schools. Over time, the mission and platform of the organization have become so much more.
“They wanted to do this innovative thing — what if they had a mentor?” Allen said. “This was over 100 years ago. Our birth was in the juvenile justice system, so justice has been part of our DNA since we started. We have evolved to understand that kids have a range of issues, challenges, and obstacles to overcome, and oftentimes professionals — whether it’s teachers, counselors, therapists or others — they have these really rigid focused pathways of working with kids.”
“What’s missing in that is a connection that that child can have an outlet to whatever they want to talk about, to help them navigate these things in a consistent way and build a deep strong relationship,” Allen said. “That’s where Big Brothers Big Sisters comes in. We are designed to create positive youth outcomes including educational success, avoidance of risky behaviors, higher aspirations, greater confidence, and a number of other things to ensure that a young person has opportunities to be successful in life.”
There is no shortage of heartwarming success stories involving the young people who were once Littles in BBBSI.
“I have a lot of stories from being here so long,” Allen said. “It feels like almost every week or so I hear a story like wow this kid has been through a lot and now they’re doing a lot better. If I had to choose one, I always go back to a story about this Little named Justin. He was in our community-based program and was matched with Mike The Big. This young kid had a smile that would brighten the whole room… he was just magnetic! He came from a community where he was dealing with a lot of poverty and challenges. He had been in several foster homes by the time he got to our program at 12 or 13.” “His Big was a young guy in accounting who wanted to give back. They had been matched and the match was going well. They connected on basketball and a number of other things.”
“After they had been matched for a couple of years, one day, the Little came home from school when he was a senior in high school saying the family had been evicted and he was going to have to figure out what he was going to do and fend for himself,” Allen continued. “The Big called me and said, ‘Hey Marcus, I know it’s against protocol, but while we’re trying to find a stabilized environment for Justin, can he stay with me? I only have a studio apartment, but I have a nice couch he can sleep on.’ I said, ‘Go for it.’ We made some calls to Widener University. Mike always talked to Justin about accounting and reading. He had never met an accountant before and didn’t even know what it was when he met Mike. Justin ends up going to college, and his Big stays involved in his life. Widener accepted him, and we told them he didn’t have a place to stay. We worked out a deal with Widener for him to go to school during the school year and stay on campus during the summer to maintain the lawn. He ended up graduating from Widener with a degree in accounting, got his CPA, and now has an amazing job as a CPA in Florida.”
“We have so many success stories, and that’s why I love working here,” Allen said.
Always seeking more ways to make connections between the youth and adults in the community, Allen was encouraged to introduce fashion as a pathway. What began as a conversation in Del Frisco’s would later become Fashion Touchdown.
“One night at Del Frisco’s one of my friends introduced me to Mike Quick,” he said. “We started having a conversation, and Mike told me he used to be on the board for BBBS and he loved the mission. He asked, ‘What [do] the Eagles do for you guys?’ and I told him we didn’t have a real partnership with them yet. My friend asked if we could get some Eagles players to help BBBS raise some money. Mike said, ‘That sounds great.’ We sat at the table and came up with this idea to do a fashion show. At the time there were a lot of Eagles players that were really into fashion, like Malcolm Jenkins and Mark Sanchez. So, we came up with the concept right at that table.”
Photo credit Hailey Photography
Since its inception, Fashion Touchdown has continued to evolve and garner support throughout the Tristate area. This year models and BBBSI Bigs and Littles graced the runway with clothing provided by Boyd’s. Two-time Super Bowl winner Malcolm Jenkins and former Eagles player Hollis Thomas were in attendance. Hometown favorite and current IBF Welterweight champion boxer Jaron “Boots” Ennis was also present and honored with the Defender of Potential award.
“We believe that we can leverage the celebrity that these people have and also highlight the need to support these young people who are going through life’s challenges” Allen said.
If you could not attend this year’s Fashion Touchdown, there are several other ways to support BBBSI. Children ages seven to 16 can sign up for the program. Youth in the program, however, are served up until 22-24, depending on what their issues and challenges are.
“One of the most important ways to support outside of donating money is to become a Big,” Allen said. “You can sign up on our website and click on “be a Big” and that takes you to an online application. Then you have to go through a process of fingerprints, background checks and references. There are other ways you can become involved, too. Some people can’t commit to a year of seeing a young person twice a month.
We have other opportunities throughout the year. We’re doing a Winter Wonderland in December, where we’re giving out coats, toys, and turkeys to families. We serve a population that needs more, so we ask for people to volunteer to help us. We also have different committees for people to sit on. So, there are a number of ways we can utilize volunteers.”
If you want to become a Big or support BBBSI, visit: www.independencebigs.org and follow them on IG @independencebigs.
Leave a Comment