Mentoring Real Life Story: Add a Little Campaign’s Jeremy and Jeury
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Mentoring Real Life Story: Add a Little Campaign’s Jeremy and Jeury

by BBBSMB
Posted October 21, 2014

As an entrepreneur looking to become involved in a meaningful volunteer experience, Big Brother Jeremy heard about BBBSMB through a friend. Despite some initial reservations, Jeremy has now been matched with his Little Brother Jeury for 1 year and 4 months and says it was the best decision he’s ever made. Jeremy and Jeury answer some of our questions about their experiences being matched and how it was like to be in the Add a Little Campaign below.

Watch Jeremy and Jeury in the Add A Little Campaign video:

Jeremy:

Why did you decide to become a Big Brother?

I found out about it through a guy I played intramural basketball with, he has been one for a number of years, and basically he thought “You’d be good at this. Why don’t you look into it and let me know what you think?” At one point I volunteered at a nursing home and it was fun, but it wasn’t totally fulfilling. So I figured this would be something I would get a lot of enjoyment out of, I really like kids and it just seemed like a no brainer. My thought was if anyone has time to it, it’s me so why not?

Were you nervous about Adding A Little to your life?

I definitely was. I was nervous about 2 things; I was worried having never done it, I didn’t know whether or not I’d be good at it, and if I was worried my Little wouldn’t like spending time with me. I was a little bit nervous I wouldn’t be creative enough to think of fun things to do all the time. But obviously that has not been the case at all!

How were your hesitation alleviated?

For me it took just one time of hanging out and we became friends, and then every time we hung out after that we had more shared history, inside jokes, and things to talk about. It actually became a friendship; it just felt really natural. And then we would talk every time we met. I’d be like “what do you want to do next”, and we would brainstorm fun things to do and it wasn’t all on me to come with ideas. He helped and told me things he was interested in. So we shared the responsibility of thinking of what to do.

What is your favorite thing to do together? How do you Add a Little excitement to your day with your Little?

Probably, it sounds funny but, just hanging out. So we often have a fun event that we have planned – whether its to go to the circus or go hit golf balls – but the most fun we have is on our way there driving in the car listening to music, blaring ‘eye of the tiger’, and dance…it’s hilarious.

What do you hope your Little will learn from you?

I want him to learn to explore interests, I want him to be excited about doing new things and to realize there are so many different fun things you can do. But I also want him to understand that to be happy and successful in life you have to commit to stuff more than surface level – you have to dive into it and explore what your interests are and your passions are. I want him to learn the standard things- to be respectful in school. To be kind.

What would you say to other guys who are interested in Adding a Little, but aren’t quite sure it’s for them?

My message would be: just take a shot at it. It’s really not that big of commitment. It’s a couple hours every couple of weeks. Why not? Why not try? You might end up having a blast. The risk is so low and the output is so high. You could end up having a friend for your whole life and really making a huge difference. And if it doesn’t work then that’s ok too.

Jeury:

If you could describe your Big Brother in one word what would it be?

Awesome!

What is your favorite thing to do with your Big Brother?

Just hang out with him, because he is like the best person to hang around with.

What is your favorite memory you have with your Big?

The time we went to Castle Island. We jogged around the giant castle, and we were playing football and the football almost fell over into the water!

What has your Big Brother taught you? Has he shown you how to do something new or different?

He taught me how to play his DJ set. First, he taught me to wait for the perfect moment to start shaking the disk. It was different and so fun.

Have you changed at all since having a Big Brother?

I have been doing a little better in school, and I’ve had some new experiences that I wouldn’t have been able to do before.

What was it like being apart of the Add a Little filming and photo shoot? What was your favorite part of the day?

A lot of fun! My favorite part was everything about it.

Would you recommend getting a Big Brother to other kids in Boston?

Yeah, because if you have a Big Brother he could do everything with you, and in case you’re lonely like you have no siblings, you can get a big brother and spend time with him.

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