| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Wisconsin wants to thank Performa for their service in the planning, designing, and implementation of our N Broadway office space! The following is an excerpt from Performa’s quarterly newsletter:
COMMUNITY & PURPOSE
BIG BROTHER BIG SISTERS: Creating space to inspire, ignite and empower potential.
Performa’s relationship with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Wisconsin (BBBSNEW) began with understanding their purpose. As an organization committed to all youth achieving their full potential, the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters remains clear now more than ever: to create and support one-on-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. Among the 240 Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies around the country, BBBSNEW supports over 135,000 children and youth. Their impact is felt in many ways. Research shows that children matched through BBBSNEW’s programs are more likely to remain in school, earn a college degree, improve social confidence and avoid risky behavior.
The Challenge
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Wisconsin (BBBSNEW) has served children in the Greater Green Bay area since 1972, and in 2018 served a record 603 children. In 2019, they recognized they were out of space and faced some additional challenges with an outdated and somewhat institutional feeling facility. They needed a more visible location downtown to help recruit “bigs”, one with better accessibility, both in location and ADA compliance. They also wanted to create a layout that enhanced the interaction and collaboration among staff, created a great first impression and offered an environment that was current, approachable, warm, modern and friendly with a wide-range appeal to children, adults, donors and families.
The Transformational Outcome
Performa assisted BBBSNEW in reimagining what their space could be. After several planning exercises, a new design was developed that created an entirely new welcome experience with a dedicated children’s area and one-on-one rooms for mentoring. A new location was identified and in early 2019, BBBSNEW moved its administrative offices from its longtime home at 1345 W. Mason Street in Green Bay, to the Broadway District of downtown in a renovated former cannery warehouse at 520 N. Broadway St., Suite 220. The renovated facility features a layout that is open, yet adaptable, to foster communication between team members and better serve families and volunteers whether in small or large gatherings. With their new downtown location, the renovated facility provides easy access to the youth they serve and vibrant, open and welcoming experience for the children, families and volunteers that use the space. The renovated facility offers more space, particularly for volunteer recruitment meetings, with plenty of flexibility to grow. It is designed to house its current 11 employees and will accommodate their anticipated growth of six additional employees in the next 10 years.
Summary
Performa was honored to help BBBSNEW transform an existing downtown space and renovate it into an environment to better serve youth. Their new space is poised for growth and will help them deliver on their purpose, reflect their evolving model for mentorship, as well as ‘give their purpose the space to thrive’ as they expand their program offerings well into the future. |
