Big Brothers And Big Sisters Of The Bluegrass Bounce Back

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass is celebrating a transformative 2012.

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President and CEO Eric Ward says the organization, which held a press conference to thank the public for its outpouring of support last year, was dangling by a thread financially last January.

"We were in a financial crisis and a decision had actually already been made at that point to close the agency down," he says.

After putting out a call for donations, Ward says the community responded in a big way, not just by keeping the doors to open but by allowing the organization to finish the year in the black.

"All in all, it was about a quarter-of-a-million dollar turn around on a three-quarters-of-a-million dollar budget, which is pretty amazing," Ward notes.

Ward says the nonprofit is currently serving about 340 kids, but 190 boys remain on the waiting list.