Each match between a Big  and a Little is special. Each has its first match meeting, its own obstacles to overcome, and ultimately its own outcomes in the lives changed. Each match has its own story, some of which you will read here. Our match stories are called “Big Impacts” because they celebrate not just the impact of the Big on the Little, but also the impact of the match on the families, the impact of the Little on the Big, and the impact of the Big Brothers Big Sisters agency that supported everyone along the way.

Big Brother Myrone and Little Brother Sidd

A Big in Blue Passes it On

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Myrone got into trouble a lot when he was growing up, but he says there was always somebody there for him. A football coach. A basketball coach. An uncle. Someone who talked to him and shifted his course. With their positive influence, he stayed focus in school and eventually became a patrol officer and then a school resource officer. Now, he’s a sergeant. He knew he wanted to have that same influence on kids like him, so he studied social work in college. And now his list of titles includes “Big Brother.”

https://www.bbbs.org/2017/08/big-blue-passes/

Big Sister Amy and Little Sister Jasmine

Better than Envisioned

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When Amy signed up to become a Big Sister, she envisioned being matched with a 7-year-old. She thought she’d spend time with a little girl who would do crafts and run around on the playground. Instead, the staff of BBBS of Puget Sound asked her, would she be willing to be matched with a teenager? The staff told her more about Little Sister Jasmine, and the more she learned how much they had in common, the more comfortable she became with the idea of being matched with a 13-year-old. Now, she wouldn’t change it for anything.

https://www.bbbs.org/2017/08/better-than-envisioned/

Big Brother Adam and Little Brother C.J.

A Grandmother’s Struggle Turns to Praise

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Little Brother C.J.’s grandmother struggled with C.J.’s attitude when she first took custody of him and his younger sister. “He used to have very little patience and thought mostly of himself,” she says. She knew he needed a positive male role model, so she enrolled him as a Little Brother through Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State, in Rhode Island.

https://www.bbbs.org/2017/07/grandmothers-struggle-turns-praise/

Big Sister Erin and Little Sister Noelle

Meet Our 2017 Big Sister of the Year, Erin, from Alaska

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A BIG Congratulations to Erin Barry, our 2017 Big Sister of the Year! From BBBS of Alaska, she has been matched with Little Sister Noelle for six years. Erin has been an encouraging figure and sounding board for Noelle. “More than anything,” she says, “just being Noelle’s friend/mentor, a person who cares, is all that’s really needed.” Thank you Erin for having a BIG impact in Noelle’s life and being a BIG role model for others.

https://www.bbbs.org/2017/07/meet-big-sister-year-erin-alaska/

Meet Our 2017 Big Brother of the Year, Terence, from Cincinnati

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A BIG Congratulations to Terence Daniels, our 2017 Big Brother of the Year! From BBBS of Greater Cincinnati, he has been matched with Little Brother Terrell for seven years. A National Guardsman, Terence stayed consistent with Terrell even when he was deployed to Iraq. “I am in Terrell’s corner no matter what,” Terence says. “Our relationship has stood the test of time because I always find a way to be consistent in his life.” Thank you Terence for having a BIG impact in Terrell’s life and being a BIG role model for others.

https://www.bbbs.org/2017/07/meet-2017-big-brother-year-terence-cincinnati/

Big Sister Shannon and Little Sister Mykayla

A Big Becomes a Third “Gilmore Girl”

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Little Sister Mykayla’s mom wanted to have a relationship with her daughter like Rory and Lorelai from “Gilmore Girls.” The mom and daughter were already so close in age that they were best friends, but throughout Mykayla’s childhood, her mother was sick. She was diagnosed with cancer when Mykayla was just a toddler, and she dealt with other severe illnesses and injuries. Mykayla’s mom enrolled Mykayla as a Little Sister when she was 10 years old. She wanted her daughter to have someone to talk to besides her, someone to be a role model. What she got was all that and more in Big Sister Shannon.

https://www.bbbs.org/2017/05/big-becomes-third-gilmore-girl/

The ‘Tika’ Seals That They are Brothers

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After more than 10 years in a refugee camp, Little Brother Ashis’ parents got to the United States and immediately wanted to give their son opportunities and a bright future. They enrolled Ashis as a Little through BBBS of Utah, and he was soon matched with Big Brother Paul. The match was exactly what they were looking for. “Paul’s influence has made Ashis want to achieve more,” Ashis’ parents say. “Ashis now has goals, in school and in basketball.”

https://www.bbbs.org/2017/05/tika-seals-brothers/

Big Sister Chelsea and Little Sister Esmeralda

Nothing wrong with being a little lost

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When Little Sister Esmeralda learned she was failing the third grade, she turned to her Big Sister for help. When they first started reading together, she could barely read the menu. When she pulled the fortune from a fortune cookie and began to read it aloud to Chelsea, she stopped in the middle because she got to a word she didn’t know, too embarrassed to keep trying. Together, they began working on Esmeralda’s reading and building her confidence. After a year of reading books each time they met, Esmeralda passed third grade.

https://www.bbbs.org/2017/05/nothing-wrong-with-being-a-little-lost/