posts categorizedBig Impacts

Shyae’s mom signed her up to be a Little because she noticed a negative change in Shyae’s attitude in school and at home. She felt her daughter needed someone to listen to her, give her guidance, and help boost her confidence. Luckily, around this time, a graduate student named Lauren had completed her student teaching and decided she could spend her extra time being a Big Sister. When the two were matched, Lauren and Shyae felt an instant connection. Shyae felt so comfortable around Lauren that she opted to call her “Sissy.” Through match activities, Lauren made an effort to give Shyae new experiences, help her overcome her fears, and explore her interests. Soon Shyae gained the confidence to become an artist, a stylist, an entrepreneur, and so much more.

Two years before Little Brother Zyshonne was born, his brother died. Though Zyshonne never met him, he still mourned and agonized over the loss once he was able to comprehend what happened. He still has eight siblings, but he lives with only two of them and his grandparents. His other six brothers and sisters were separated and placed in foster homes. The loss of his brother and the displacement of his family led Zyshonne to build a wall of shyness to keep people from getting close to him. He struggled with his grades and social skills, so when Zyshonne was 10, his grandfather turned to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Growing up without a father or mother for any length of time is one of the hardest things a child can experience. When Little Sister Rustie was 2, her mother decided she no longer wanted to raise her. When Rustie got older, her father was incarcerated. After a stint with caregivers, Rustie went to live with her grandparents. She struggled to make positive choices and had trouble fitting in with her peers at school. After her tough early childhood, it looked like Rustie would need a Big Sister who was nothing short of a superhero. But after a match activity where Big Sister Elena armed Rustie with a cape, she became her own superhero.

Police Chief Scott grew up with two quality mentors — his parents. His father taught Scott and his friends to fish and hunt, and his mom encouraged them to empathize with others. The lessons had lasting effects on Scott, but modeling mentorship may have been the biggest. As he went through college and started his career as a beat cop, he sought out mentors for himself and eventually decided to become one. He became a Big Brother to Little Brother Marcus and saw firsthand the impact that an officer could have by mentoring a youth. After being named police chief, he made mentoring a priority for his department and saw award-winning results.

After retiring as a school principal, Verna still felt compelled to make a difference in someone’s life, so she became a Big Sister. She was matched with Little Sister Sarah, who was 6. Like many kids, Sarah was struggling with bullies, attendance, reading, and making friends. Though Verna had worked with many kids before, she quickly realized that this relationship would be different and, ultimately, the most special.

Dre’Von grew up surrounded by girls, with an older sister and two younger sisters, so his mother decided to enroll him as a Little Brother. She felt Dre’Von could use a positive male model in the form of a Big Brother, and he was matched with Tyler. Over the next three years, they have visited wolves at the zoo, seen the brightest neon jerseys ever at an NFL game, and enjoyed a perfect fall evening at an MLB game. From the activities they do together to the dedication to the match, Tyler has proven to be exactly the guy Dre’Von needed in his life.

One of the first things Annie did when she moved to Salt Lake City was look into volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters. As she was going through her trainings and waiting to meet her Little Sister, Annie started learning things about her new home. One of the things she learned was that Salt Lake City has a large refugee population. During her interview with Big Brothers Big Sisters staff, they asked if she would be interested in being matched with a refugee youth. “It was as if the person interviewing me looked right into my soul and saw something that I didn’t know about myself yet,” Annie says. “I immediately knew that I would prefer to mentor a refugee youth.” Annie was matched with Little Sister Sabina, who was a 6-year-old Nepali refugee. The match was intended to be life-changing for Sabina, but it ended up changing both their lives.

Big Brother Roy raised two sons to be independent and responsible like himself, but after they moved out the house, he experienced “empty nest” syndrome. He tried curing it by babysitting his three granddaughters, serving at his church, and taking up new hobbies, but nothing seemed to fill the void. After reading about Big Brothers Big Sisters in the newspaper, Roy signed up to be Big. He was soon matched with Little Brother Cahill, who wasn’t your typical 12-year-old, and began what would become a life-long friendship.

Shannon was sitting in traffic when she saw an ad on the back of a bus that changed her life forever. “You can could be a Big Brother or Big Sister,” it read, and she believed it. She signed up and was matched with Little Sister Courtney. Courtney’s childhood had been tough, with drugs and alcohol affecting her family, and her dad incarcerated at the time of her match. This only inspired Shannon more, as she saw a lot of herself in Courtney during their first match meeting. “She needed a positive role model in her life just like I did when I was her age,” Shannon says. “From that day meeting her, I have tried to provide this for her in every interaction we share.”