Big Brother, Alvin, first joined Big Brothers Big Sisters Greater Fredericksburg in November 2010. Alvin came to the organization because he loved spending time with his nieces and nephews but didn’t have children of his own. He stated at his initial interview that he had several mentors over the course of his life and he felt that he would be able to give the same kind of support to a Little Brother. Alvin was looking forward to being matched with an active Little Brother.
Alvin’s first Little Brother unfortunately lost interest in the program pretty quickly so that match was closed after only 8 months. For some volunteers, that would have been disheartening and led to them no longer wanting to participate but Alvin wanted to continue and he was matched with his 2nd Little Brother, Kamari, in January 2012. Alvin and Kamari initially bonded over a shared love of movies and enjoyed activities like hanging out at Alvin’s house to play pool, playing video games, and attending BBBS events. During their time together, Kamari’s mom reported that he seemed to be more motivated and positive with Alvin in his life. His grades came up, his behavior at school improved, and he was involved in football. Alvin and Kamari’s match was closed in July 2017, after Kamari graduated from high school.
Alvin remained dedicated to the mission of BBBS and felt it was important that he continue to mentor and that he got a lot of enjoyment from the program so he wanted to continue that experience. Alvin was matched with his current Little Brother, Lorne, in November 2017. Lorne’s mother was seeking a Big Brother for him because she was a single parent and she felt that he would benefit from someone who could help him to come out of his shell and become more confident.
Alvin and Lorne’s initial connection took some time as Lorne broke his wrist just before the match
introduction and he ended up needing more time than anticipated to heal before being able to engage in activities. The match finally started meeting in January 2018. Alvin and Lorne’s mom worked to establish a regular routine for match activities and plans for how the match could stay connected when times arose that they couldn’t see each other. Alvin jumped into helping Lorne improve his reading skills by taking him to the library, helped him learn new things by taking him back to his house to bake cookies, and brought him to many of the BBBS group match activities so that Lorne could have new experiences.
Over the past few years, the relationship between Lorne and Alvin has continued to grow. When Lorne has concerns or experiences tough times, he reaches out to Alvin. They have gone to movies, built a lot of Legos, put together shelves and bookcases, talked about the importance of grades and money management, and attended most of the available BBBS events. Alvin helped Lorne learn to tie a tie prior to homecoming this past year. Lorne’s mother has said that she sees Lorne “coming into his own” and knows that Alvin has contributed to much of that.
Alvin truly embodies the motto “Real Men Mentor” and we are honored to name him as this years Big Brother of the Year
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