Little Brother Geremiah was 14 years old when Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee matched him with his Big Brother Josh in 2017. Geremiah’s mother Sarah enrolled him in the program because she wanted him to build a healthy relationship with a positive male role model.  Sarah felt a Big Brother could provide Geremiah with new experiences, help him with career exploration and college preparation, and support him socially and emotionally.  

Josh was in graduate school in New Hampshire when he learned about Big Brothers Big Sisters from a classmate who was a volunteer mentor in the program. Josh thought it was great to see the positive impact that relationship had on both his friend and his friend’s mentee, and he thought helping a young person in his development would be something he would really enjoy.

“I think the main draw for me to become a Big Brother was the example set for me by my parents,” said Josh. “My step-father adopted me when I was seven, and going through that experience of having someone take on responsibility for me and provide mentorship because he truly cared has been exceedingly powerful in my development as an adult. I have always wanted to pay that forward.”

Through their more than two years together, Geremiah and Josh have built a strong friendship.  “I like spending time with Josh because we have a lot in common and no matter what we do it is always fun,” said Geremiah. “Josh is someone I can talk to about anything and he always gives me great advice when I’m having trouble figuring life out.”

Hear from Geremiah and Josh in their own words:

Matches of the Year

Each year we celebrate the positive impact of mentoring relationships by selecting an outstanding Big Brother/Little Brother match and Big Sister/Little Sister match. Our Matches of the Year represent hundreds of wonderful Bigs and Littles involved in our programs, and help us by being ambassadors for mentoring throughout the year.

Matches are selected based on the following criteria:

• the length of the match
• the strength of the relationship between the Big and Little
• demonstrated success in achieving positive outcomes
• connection and affiliation to our BBBS agency