Big Brothers/Big Sisters campaigning for mentors
January 10, 2007, Cushing Daily Citizen (Oklahoma)

By RABYN RATLIFF
The Valdosta Daily Times (Valdosta, GA)

VALDOSTA, Ga. — As Big Brothers/Big Sisters celebrate National Mentoring Month, members are encouraging local residents to reach out to young men and women in the community.

The month-long outreach campaign, spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project, MENTOR and the Corporation for National and Community Service, brings national focus on the need for mentors. The campaign also works to inform individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities and non-profits on the various ways a community can work together to increase the number of mentors and assure brighter futures for our young people.

Locally, Joseph Campbell, 15, and Blake Taylor, 24, have been matched through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program for just over a year. Since becoming a part of the program, the two have grown as individuals and have grown together.

“Blake was in college when I first met him, and now he owns his own contracting business. I was like ‘Whoa, he can do a lot stuff. I couldn’t handle all that.’ He’s inspired me to become a contractor, or something like that, and I want to have my own business, too. He teaches me lessons in life and about becoming an adult,” said Campbell.

Before getting matched 14 months ago, Campbell was on the organization’s waiting list for nearly eight years. Like many of the young men in the program, who also come from single-parent, only-child homes, the wait sometimes became discouraging as he hoped for a male figure in his life.

“I got frustrated during the wait, but now everything is good, and I like being able to have someone to talk to and do things with,” said Campbell. “He’s a role model. He helps me with my homework when I ask, and me, him and my mom hang out at the house a lot and talk and play. He shows me the importance of having close friends there when you need something.”

Coming from a larger, close-knit family, Taylor says that it was his own upbringing that inspired him to want to make a difference in the life of a youngster. Since becoming a mentor, the program has made a difference in his life as well, as he finds the warmth and welcome of an extended family.

“I chose to become involved because I had brothers growing up, and both my parents were around. There were people there to help me grow up, and I hated the thought that there were young people who didn’t have that, and it’s great to give that to someone,” said Taylor. “We actually spend a lot of the time eating, because Joseph’s mother, Gloria Gracia, is a fantastic cook. She’s Colombian, and she makes a lot of dishes that are different for me and I enjoy them. Really, we all hang out together like a family.”

There are currently 31 young men in the Lowndes-Valdosta community, awaiting mentors through the program. As the organization celebrates National Mentoring Month, Big Brothers/Big Sisters match specialists are hopeful that positive males will join in helping to fill the much needed roles.

“We have 31 little brothers, ages 5-14, on the waiting list for an active adult. Some are on the list for years before finding a match,” said Shasta Allen, match support specialist. “The majority of the young men in our program are in single-mother homes. Mothers are nurturing and protective, but often times, it’s the father who gives stability to the children in a home. Without a father there, they don’t really know how to be a man or how to be a father later on in their own lives. This program helps to provide these young men with a male outlook.”

Reflecting on a once quiet eighth-grader’s growth into a cheerful Valdosta High School freshman, Taylor encourages others to become mentors in the program as a way to help boys grow into positive men.

“The No. 1 difference that I’ve noticed in Joseph is that his confidence has grown. When I first came around, he didn’t talk very much and now he’s a lot happier kid and more vibrant and expressive,” said Taylor.

“Before I didn’t know what it would take for me to become involved. I have work, friends and family, and I spend a lot of time with the Lord and my church Bible study group. It’s not like it’s an instant life change and you’re not going to have time to do things you have to do, and now, I realize that mentoring is something I wanted to do. I don’t know what I would do without Joseph and his mother in my life,” Taylor said. “This program has taught me to stretch myself and to think of what’s most important. I realize that some of the other things aren’t as important as I once thought they were. Anyone who becomes a mentor will be glad they chose to do it, and it’s like a chain reaction, because as you help them, they will help others when they’re older, and that leads to a better community.”

Big Brothers/Big Sisters is a non-profit organization which exists through the support of this community. Individuals wishing to support may do so through volunteer or donation support. All monetary donations go to support individual match costs of $500, which provide professional support for each match, mentor screening and insurance costs. To become a mentor, to volunteer or to enroll a child, call 1-800-614-4215. To make a donation to the organization, call Shasta Allen or Amber Dowd at 229-253-8851 or visit www.southgabbbs.org.

Robyn Ratliff writes for The Valdosta (Ga.) Daily Times.