Little Brothers was founded after World War II by Armand Marquiset, a French nobleman, in response to the poverty suffered by many elders in war-ravaged Europe. Stripped of family and resources, these elderly persons had no one to turn to for help. Little Brothers was created to offer that help. Marquiset began delivering hot meals and flowers to its elderly neighbors in Paris in 1946.
The first US chapter started in Chicago in 1959, followed by Cincinnati in 1997. Little Brothers now serves the elderly in Boston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Philadelphia, San Francisco and most recently New York City.
Little Brothers NYC is currently an expansion site in an early development stage. Our focus is currently on serving the isolated elderly of Crown Heights, Bed-Stuyvesant, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens in Brooklyn and the UWS in Manhattan.
Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly is a 501(c)(3) organization – all gifts and donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by the law. We are a private charity and receive no public funds. Our ability to run our programs and forge connections with elderly friends comes mainly from individual donors, volunteers, monthly pledges, corporate donations and special fundraising events that express their commitment to our mission.
Little Brothers has now become an international non-profit organization established in ten different countries (France, USA, Canada, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Mexico, Romania) with thousands of volunteers around the world.
