Each of us has a responsibility to make our community better. The responsibility itself may come from a religious, personal, or business commitment; but it often leads to volunteerism. Our community can only be great if we all take an active role. Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrates those volunteers who have taken on the significant role of being a ‘Big’ mentor to ‘Little’ young people facing adversity.
Jeff needed someone to get him out of the house and have fun, as his great grandmother, who is raising him, is not as active as she once was. He needed a positive male role model to talk with and confide in, and to give him a man’s prospective when it comes to responsibility and decision making during his teen years. Jeff also wanted to play sports, like volleyball, with his Big, and to explore gold panning.
Meanwhile, Paul was working part time at YBBBS during his retirement. He had a passion for helping community children. Like most employees of Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters, he wanted to go beyond working on behalf of local children facing make a lasting difference in one child’s life by being a Big. Paul is athletic and also coaches many sports teams, and was looking forward to teaching a boy to hunt, fish, and camp.
Paul and Jeff were matched by one of the professional Match Advisors at YBBBS, and now they spend about eight hours together each month. Statistics show that relationships like theirs help boys stay out of the juvenile system, and being there for a child has beneficial effects on adults as well. Please consider being matched with a local child facing adversity. Call 928-778-5135 or go to www.azbigs.org for more information.