Big Impact, Little Moments: The Heart of Mentorship

United Way of Grays Harbor
May 11
2 min read

Updated: May 12

Every year we get to sit down and listen. This year Big Brothers Big Sisters brought Brady with them. He is a professional forester with the Department of Natural Resources. He came to talk about trees. He ended up talking about a kid named Cameron.

When Brady first met Cameron she was very shy, barely talkative, introverted. That was a year and a half ago. Today she is extroverted, excited about color guard, band, and choir, and considering a career as a sign language interpreter. They may have connected over a shared interest in forestry and natural resources. But that is not what kept them coming back.

"My reason for staying changed. It's really that one on one mentoring relationship that I found so valuable." Brady, Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor

What makes Big Brothers Big Sisters different

Big Brothers Big Sisters is built entirely around one to one mentoring. Not groups. Not a high schooler supervising a room full of kids after school. One Mentor, one child, matched intentionally, trained thoroughly, and supported every single month with check ins that make sure both the mentor and the young person are thriving.

That structure is why the outcomes are what they are. When one person shows up consistently for one kid, things change.

112 Matches Made

90% Of matches stayed together six months or more

83% Of youth maintained or improved their grades

Three ways to get involved in Grays Harbor County

Big Brothers Big Sisters has built three programs in Grays Harbor County in about a year. Community based matching pairs adults with younger kids for outings and activities two to four times a month. The high school site based program at Hoquiam High School pairs high schoolers with middle schoolers, seven matches formed in just the last two months, with students saying they want to give younger kids the guidance they wish they had. And the forestry career exploration program, where Brady came in, connects professionals with

high schoolers interested in natural resources, nine matches and growing, with three more in the pipeline.

Finding adult volunteers willing to commit has been a challenge. That is why Big Brothers Big Sisters goes to the schools and meets young people where they are. Because the need is there. The kids are there. And when the right match happens, the average length of that relationship is 15 months, well beyond the one year commitment asked of mentors.

Get Involved

It ripples

Cameron, Brady's mentee, wants to mentor middle schoolers at Aberdeen as her senior project. Kids who were once the little are now becoming the big. The investment in one child becomes an investment in the next one, and the one after that.

"There is nothing more impactful than to have someone that has walked that walk to walk beside you." Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Washington