The Greater Dallas Big Brothers Big Sisters organization has more than six hundred and fifty children in the program who patiently wait to meet their mentor, and 90% of them are young boys, the organization’s president said.
“Boys wait longer because women volunteer more than men do, so we are putting a special call-out to all of the men out there,” the chapter’s president, Jenny Harper, told CBS DFW.
Mentors are positive role models for the children of Big Brothers Big Sisters, which according to the organization, some of these kids need that positive influence in their life.
It took two years for Cruzifixo Gonzalez, fifteen years old, to find a mentor, and when Alberto Morales came into the picture, he could not have been happier. They have been in each other’s lives, meeting one time a week, for six years.
“I needed somebody to guide me in my life, and I didn’t grow up with my brother and sister beside me to help me, so I didn’t have anybody to look up to,” Gonzalez said.
Morales grew up with five older sisters that seemed to always be there for him.
“I know not all kids have that opportunity, so I wanted to join and be able to be that mentor for somebody else,” Morales explained. “We’ve been to sports events. We’ve also gone out for ice cream. He’s run errands with me. He’s helped out around my house.”
The mentor even helps build up the plans for Gonzalez, and now the fifteen-year-old boy says he wants to be involved in entrepreneurship marketing.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Texas covers areas throughout the Lone Star state, including Dallas County, Tarrant County, Wichita Falls, Greater Houston, and West Central Texas. The organization mentions that ninety-one percent of children in the program improved or have been consistent in social environments. They shared that 85% have gained the feeling of belonging among peers in school, and 90% have achieved that feeling among their families.
January is National Mentoring Month. To volunteer, receive more information, or become a mentor, click here.
