In the summer of 2011, an eight-year-old boy from Philadelphia named Christopher gained the attention of the local news as he continued to wait to be matched with a Big Brother. Christopher’s mother, Tira, wanted a mentor for her oldest son because he did not have a positive male influence in his life on a consistent basis and needed a reliable role model. Christopher’s story was highlighted on Fox 29 in order to raise awareness of our organization’s huge, ongoing need for mentors. We are happy to report, though, that we did find a wonderful Big Brother for Christopher and they have been successfully matched for four years.
Sheil and Christopher met in the fall of 2011 and immediately hit it off. Both Big Brother and Little Brother are laid back, have a great sense of humor and love to laugh. They’ve attended quite a few BBBS SEPA sponsored match activities including going to Dave & Buster’s, ice skating and the Annual Picnic, and also like to stay active by playing basketball or having a catch.
Big Brother Sheil really cares about his Little and says he and Christopher often talk about school together. The Little Brother has a goal to improve in reading and is already doing better in the subject. “It’s important he keeps up with school and improves where he needs to,” Sheil told us. “I hope he can be a good influence on his two younger brothers as well.”
Sheil says his experience as a mentor has been fun and rewarding. “I’m doing things I wouldn’t be doing otherwise. It’s a great experience and I can’t imagine there being better opportunities where you can focus on one person who you can help and form a relationship with. You get to see the person grow and help them in whatever way you can. That’s what makes it a really unique experience.”
