Meet Little Brother Jacory and Big Sister Jaclyn, who have been matched in our Community Based Mentoring Program since 2017! Jacory’s aunt signed him up for the program as she wanted him to have a stable and consistent role model. This match has built such a strong bond and continues to flourish! Over the years, Little J and Big J have had important discussions and lessons about responsibilities. (Most notably, they worked on taking care of a fish together.) Big J and Little J practice showing perspective, exercising patience, and learning how to identify feelings. If you were to ask Jacory what his favorite moment with his Big is, he wouldn’t be able to choose just one memory.
Jaclyn continues to remind her Little of the importance of making goals, so together they will continue tracking their goal progress, practicing mindfulness, and performing well in school (both socially and academically.) They love to explore the outdoors, participate in yoga in the woods, and walk along Tampa Bay’s beautiful beaches.
Out of the 2,124 matches we served in 2021, approximately 121 were matches comprised of a Big Sister and a Little Brother. This number moves up to 125 matches if we include Big Sisters who are matched with males and youth who identify as non-binary, genderqueer, or gender fluid. While we love our caring Big Sisters who step up to volunteer as a mentor for a Little Brother, we will always welcome more Big Brothers! However, our agency will match boys 10 years of age and younger with Big Sisters if the parent/guardian is open to a cross-gender match.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay is proud to serve more than 2,400 youth in 9 counties across the greater Tampa Bay area and beyond. Join us as a defender of potential by becoming a mentor, or what we call a Big. It just takes 4-8 hours a month — it’s about the time you spend, not the money. Click here to see the virtual orientation schedule.
