Youth Service Bureau and Darden Foundation Partner to Advance Big Brothers Big Sisters

The Youth Service Bureau announced that it has been selected to receive a $1,000 grant as part of the inaugural Restaurant Community Grant Program from the Darden Foundation, the charitable arm of Darden Restaurants, Inc.

The Restaurant Community Grant Program is a local grants program intended to help support nonprofit organizations in the hundreds of communities Darden and its restaurant brands serve.

Restaurants within the Darden family — Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52 — are helping to award more than $1.7 million in local grants to nearly 900 exceptional nonprofit organizations nationwide. Nonprofits receiving grants support one of Darden’s three key focus areas: access to postsecondary education, preservation of natural resources and hunger.

“We are extremely grateful that the Darden Restaurants Inc. Foundation has chosen to fund the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Tutoring and Mentoring Summer Program,” said Jodi Morelli, program coordinator of BBBS of Centre County.

“Each year Big Brothers Big Sisters of Centre County continues to advance its mission of providing quality service to children and youth at risk in our community who can benefit from a one-to-one mentoring relationship. Providing mentoring services in addition to educational activities throughout the summer months will allow our kids to remain academically engaged and will increase their opportunities to achieve success when they return to school in the fall. We appreciate that the Darden Foundation is helping our kids to reach their potential.”

‘Each grant is not just a check — it is an opportunity to make an impact, from providing essential supplies to food banks in Oregon, to mentoring students in Phoenix and supporting environmental education in New England,” said Drew Madsen, president and chief operating officer of Darden Restaurants, Inc. “Our service philosophy extends far beyond the walls of our restaurants. These grants bring that philosophy to life by helping to develop a better future for those we serve, one community at a time.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters will provide an enhanced focus on educational support through the summer months, thus increasing kids’ opportunities to achieve school success.

Students will begin the new school year on track with where they ended the previous year and with more self-confidence and a better, more positive attitude toward school.

For more information about the Darden Foundation, please visit https://www.darden.com/commitment/community.asp. For additional information on the YSB, please visit www.ccysb.com.