Zachary and Carter’s friendship took root almost the instant these two were introduced through Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters. On the day they officially became a match, Zachary sprinted outside at the first glance of his Big pulling up to his house. He stuck his hand out, and smiled with pure excitement as his new Big Brother returned the favor by giving him a “man’s handshake”.
Zachary experienced a significant loss as a child. Despite the quality time he spent with his grandfather, he did not have a strong, physically active, male role model. This is what opened the door for Carter to step into his life.
Due to the hundreds of boys waiting to be matched, and a shortage of male Bigs, Zachary had to wait almost a year to get matched. However, he is glad that he is matched to Carter, and has even said, “I really, really like my Big.”
These two do lots of activities together, including hiking at the Granite Dells, Ping Pong, Air hockey, Pool, Shuffleboard, and even go to Full Swing on occasion. Carter, who is 19, takes little Zachary onto the Embry Riddle campus and gives him a taste of the college life. Zachary loves going on the campus with his Big.
Carter is currently on school break, but plans to keep in touch with his Little through FaceTime. An Embry Riddle student, Carter knows what it means to be a mentor from having had a good one in his life. His experience pushed him towards becoming a Big Brother, and changing a child’s life, Fundamentally. For the Better. Forever!
All it takes is 8 hours a month to change a child’s life. To learn more about becoming a Big, call 928.778.5135, visit azbigs.org, or ‘Friend’ us on Facebook.