When Devin Reed and Braiden Sells opted to volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nodaway County, they thought they were giving of their time and talents by mentoring children in Northwest Missouri.

What they’ve learned, though, is that they are receiving as much or more through the process. During January, which is National Mentoring Month, BBBS Nodaway is recognizing all the dedicated adults who help ignite the potential of kids in their own ways.

“Being involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters means a lot to me,” said Reed, now in her third year of being matched with Austyn. “I feel honored to be able to mentor a girl who is really special. It’s a privilege to be trusted with somebody else’s child and help shape her development alongside her mom. I’m not the primary person, but even the small tidbits of what we do together makes a difference.”

Austyn is in high school, so her relationship with Reed is different than some might expect. Theirs is more of an adult partnership, and they enjoy spending whatever time together that they can get. While mentoring is commonly referenced about giving direction to youth, there are personal benefits that many people don’t recognize until they’re involved.

“There’s some sort of satisfaction for me to truly care for my ‘Little’ and to look out for her interests and not just my own,” Reed said. “I want to lead her in the right direction and not judge in any way. She’s really grown over the years, and it’s made me grow, too. It’s good for her and me.”

That means sometimes Reed includes her husband and daughter in the gatherings with Austyn, which offers the teen a different viewpoint. Whether it’s dinner together or family game night, it’s a chance for “Bigs” and “Littles” to interact with others.

“Sometimes I have to work around my own family’s schedule,” Reed said. “My daughter loves her. Austyn has become part of our family in a sense.”

That, too, is a benefit for Reed.

“I’ve gained a friend,” she said. “I’m learning as a mother of a 4-year-old, and now I have a 17-year-old in my life. She’s taught me things. By listening to her, I’m soaking up a lot of things I hope to be practicing with my own child someday. I grew up with a brother, and he was 10 years younger than me. I never had a little sister growing up, but I’m actually doing that with Austyn.”

Sells and his “Little,” Wyatt, have been matched for about a year, and they have already developed a strong bond.

“It actually feels like we have been matched for longer than that,” said Sells, who grew up in Maryville and is studying elementary education at Northwest Missouri State University. “I definitely think our relationship is a lot like a big-brother-and-little-brother thing. We just hang out and talk about random things.

“We definitely give each other a hard time,” said Sells.

That seems to be a typical sibling relationship, which is a good thing for Sells and Wyatt, who is now nine years old.

“I feel like Wyatt has taught me as much, maybe more, as I’ve taught him,” Sells said. “He’s just helped me in a lot of ways, especially since I want to be a teacher. I get a good idea of what it would be like. It benefits me to be a teacher. It helps me with that, but it also helps me because Wyatt is just fun to hang out with.”

Children will always need mentors, and BBBS is in need of “Bigs” to help local youth empower, ignite and defend their potential. While they’re at it, Bigs may help fill a void they didn’t know they even had.

While some consider mentoring to be a big-city answer to a big-city issue, Big Brothers Big Sisters is at home in Nodaway County and has provided the perfect stepping stones for “Littles” and their “Bigs,” who live in Small Town, America, too.

Facebook Comments