Needed: More Helping Hands
January 29, 2007, Tucson Citizen

By HILDA ORPOEZA CHIHAK

Through the ages, friends, community leaders, aunts and uncles have taken young people by the hand and helped them through the rocky shoals of life.

These helping hands have turned lives around, providing guidance and hope.

January has been designated National Mentoring Month. What better way to commemorate this month than to recognize the importance of mentors, seek to recruit additional men and women for this important volunteer role, and thank those who have given so generously of themselves.

National Mentoring Month is a joint project of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Harvard Mentoring Project and MENTOR, a group that is an advocate and resource for the expansion of mentoring initiatives nationwide.
This collaboration has served to bring mentoring to the fore - but the act of volunteering to help guide young people is ages old.

The first formal youth mentoring program, which has become Big Brothers Big Sisters, began more than 100 years ago in New York City. Then, Ernest Coulter, a clerk in family court, called together the men's group of his church and asked it to stand with him to help young boys seek their dreams.

Today, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson develops one-to-one, adult-to-child mentor relationships for girls and boys ages 6 to 18.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson has 577 active "matches," or children served, and approximately 400 children on the waiting list. There are approximately 250,000 "Big Brothers" and "Big Sisters" throughout the country mentoring young people.

People such as Eric Lamb, vice president of middle market real estate for Wells Fargo Bank, who's been mentoring since 1996. He moved to Tucson from Los Angeles in April 1996 and had a lot more time on his hands not having to sit in traffic three hours a day.
His wife, Camille, has a master's degree in social work and has a long history of helpings kids and families in Tucson. She encouraged Eric to get involved.

Eric and his little brother, Ian Houghton, developed a friendship throughout the years. They've spent time together going to the movies, playing video games, getting together for food and lots of mountain bike riding, including three El Tour de Tucson events.
"The two things I've enjoyed the most are getting to be a part of Ian's growing up to be a great young man and spending time with him doing things I wouldn't have done otherwise," Eric said.

Looking back, Eric doesn't think there was a large amount of time spent with his little brother - two to four hours a week.

"I hope that Ian was influenced by the example I set as a person," Eric said. "It appears that he has in that he is a confident speaker, gets decent grades, is making plans to go to college and does volunteer work now himself."

Eric is pleased that both families have in essence become one. They all get together for dinners, birthdays and special occasions.

National Mentoring Month is a time to to send out special wishes: to a former teacher, a coach, a Big Brother or Big Sister or a special friend.
We believe that signing up to be a Big Brother or Big Sister translates into a magnificent thank-you.

Big Brothers Big Sisters particularly needs men to help young boys such as Ian establish a wonderful friendship that makes a big difference to both the "Big" and the "Little."

About the author
Hilda Oropeza Chihak is chief executive officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson.