Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga on Friday officially opened its new Warner Mentoring Hub, an expansion of the organization’s Bailey Avenue facility that will allow the agency’s mentoring program to expand.
“It’s not merely a building,” CEO Jessica Whatley said at the ribbon-cutting for the facility, which Porter Warner originally led the efforts to fund more than a half-century ago. “It’s truly the cornerstone of our efforts to provide more youth with a mentor to ignite their potential.”
The organization has been in the same building for 54 years, but it was mainly an office building without much functional space, Whatley said by phone.
With the mentoring hub’s additional 950 square feet, the agency now has a much-needed lobby area where people can come for interviews or to get information about enrolling their children in the program, she said.
The extra space also allowed for the addition of a conference and training room, giving the organization the ability to expand opportunities for training mentors, mentees and parents, Whatley said. Before, most of the organization’s training was conducted virtually.