Community Impact: Sharing the Love of Mentorship

“It’s been over 35 years, and I can still remember how happy I felt when my Big taught me how to ride a bike! It was moments like these – the feeling you get when someone believes you can achieve anything that I cherish the most.” – Little Jesse 

Today, Jesse and John, two brothers from Atlanta, Georgia are building a brighter community one chicken sandwich at a time. Jesse is a catering manager and his younger brother, John is the store manager at a local Chik-Fil-A franchise in Whitehall, Pennsylvania. John shares, “The work you’re doing is so important. Having a Big Brother made all the difference in my brother, Jesse’s life and even had an influence on me and my younger brother. We want to work with organizations like yours to support youth in Lehigh Valley!” 

In Atlanta, Jesse was matched with his Big, Don for twelve years. Sadly, Jesse’s parents divorced when he was only seven years old. “The one thing I remember most about my Big is that he would surprise me and show up at my baseball and basketball games – it meant the world at the time because my Dad wasn’t there.” As a children’s ministry leader, he knows first-hand how critical it is for young boys to have a mentor in their lives at such an impressionable age. “Our young boys are struggling with their mental health, confidence and believing in their ability to achieve their dreams. We need more men to step in and give them the support they need to discover their potential.” 

Men of family and faith, Jesse and John understand the impact one person can make on your life and are grateful to pay it forward for their children and youth in the Lehigh Valley. “Don taught us the importance of showing up in relationships by being a dependable friend. I credit him for the way we show up as husbands, fathers and friends in our community. It’s vital that young boys and men in Lehigh Valley have someone like YOU show up for them, too!”  

Learn more about Becoming A Big today – Volunteer – Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lehigh Valley (bbbslv.org) 

In Memory of ‘Big’ William Donald Hamilton 

1959-2016 

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