Mentorship Month: Beyond School Walls

By: Cheng Saechao

Definition of Mentor: an experienced and trusted adviser.
Definition of National Mentoring Month: the value of mentoring and positive role models is recognized in January.

“Beyond School Walls”, a program of Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest, is currently in its 9th year in Oregon. Twice a month, 20 fifth graders (“Littles”) from William Walker Elementary in Beaverton come to our Comcast offices over the lunch hour to meet with their “Bigs.” Together, they participate in a variety of activities aimed at building the kids’ interpersonal skills, confidence, and curiosity in careers. There are even sessions where we reverse the location and the Bigs go visit their Littles at school.

“I joined Beyond School Walls because I place a very high value on helping children to find stability and confidence in this very intimidating world that they live in. I am proud of my Little Brother’s display of true gratification accompanied with expression of thankfulness for showing genuine interest in him.” -Jeffery McKizzie, Xfinity On Campus executive and Big Brother to Joshua

Over time, the Bigs and Littles have created friendships, shared memorable experiences, and made a lasting impact on one another. In just one year of the program, our Littles are more optimistic about their educational future and demonstrate improved behavior in and outside the classroom. Even more impressive, while the high school graduation rate in Oregon is 74%, the rate for students mentored through Big Brothers Big Sisters is 91%. With volunteerism and service as a core value at Comcast, we are proud of our mentoring impact.

Are you interested in influencing a local child’s life with Big Brothers Big Sisters? Visit www.itsbigtime.org to learn more.

“When I first met [Henry] three years ago, he was very shy and nervous. Over the past couple years, we have been working on self-confidence and challenging each other to learn new things… This amazing little champion hung on to a rope over the side of a 24 story building [to fundraise for Big Brothers Big Sisters with me last fall]. I could not be more proud of how he has progressed.” -Randall Rene, Construction Manager, Big Brother to Henry, and Oregon’s Big of the Year 2018