I've been a Big Brother for over 10 years now. I've been matched with my current Little, E, for about three of them.
From the beginning, my goal with Little E has been pretty simple. I want to help this young man understand four things that I've tried to live by and that I raised my own kids with:
You can talk about those words all day long. You can explain what they mean and give examples. But there's nothing quite like seeing a kid begin to put them into practice when nobody is telling him to.
This weekend, I got a BIG dose of that.
For the first couple of years Little E and I were matched, we did all the cool things he wanted to do. And we had an amazing time.
Recently, I decided it was time to widen his world a little and introduce him to some of the things I'm passionate about.
Like cars.
Little E had never shown much interest in them. But I started taking him to a few car shows, and something interesting happened. He started looking beyond the shiny paint and big wheels.
He'd examine the cars. Ask questions. Wonder why two Mustangs that looked similar could have completely different engine configurations.
His future-engineer brain was kicking in.
He's now been to several shows with me, although I'm pretty sure his newfound enthusiasm has something to do with the fact that I don't make him help clean my Mustang before we go. 😂
Then came this weekend.
At one of those car shows, Little E somehow managed to win a brand-new 70-inch television.
For a 12-year-old kid, that's like winning the lottery.
He was thrilled.
Then reality entered the picture.
His family recently moved, and the expenses took a toll on his mom's savings. With school starting, keeping their internet service connected was far more important than having a giant television hanging on the wall.
That alone made me incredibly proud.
I put it on Facebook Marketplace and shared the story.
And then something happened that neither of us expected.
The internet went a little crazy.
Friends and complete strangers started sending money. People wanted to make sure this kid had internet access for his schoolwork and could still enjoy the incredible TV he'd won.
Before we knew it, people had contributed more than enough.
His mom can now use that money to prepay their internet service, taking one worry off the family's plate.
So I went back to Little E with what I thought was pretty great news.
He thought about it.
And decided to sell it anyway.
The $300 from selling the television?
He wants it put into savings for his family so there's money available for the next emergency.
12.I keep coming back to that.
Twelve.
A 70-inch television sitting right there, completely paid for, completely his, and permission to keep it.
And he chose security for his family instead.
Ten years ago, I became a Big because I thought maybe I could make a difference in a kid's life.
What nobody adequately explains when you sign up is how often the kid ends up making a difference in yours.
This weekend wasn't really about a television.
It wasn't even about the money.
It was one of those rare moments when I got to see the young man Little E is becoming.
And man...
I'm proud of this kid.
This weekend was a pretty powerful reminder of exactly why, ten years ago, I decided to #BeBig. ❤️
What is Big Brothers Big Sisters?
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentoring organization that matches caring adult volunteers, called “Bigs,” with young people, or “Littles,” to build supportive one-to-one relationships that can help kids grow in confidence, character and opportunity. If you’d like to learn more about becoming a Big, supporting the program, or getting a young person involved, visit GoBigTampaBay.org.