Mentor Chris moved to the Niagara Region in 2020 and knew he wanted to, “get involved, volunteer and make an impact in the charitable sector supporting the Niagara community,” says Chris. He is involved with United Way (A BBBS funding partner) and volunteers at many outreach initiatives through Elevation Church.
After connecting with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara (BBBSN) Chris applied to become a mentor and a short time later he was matched with mentee Bentley in our Community Based 1:1 Mentoring Program. Chris looked forward to having the opportunity to impact a child’s life sharing, “being a Big Brother means being able to be a positive role model to a child during a period of their lives when they are making decisions that will shape their character and chart the course of their future.”
In 2024 Chris and Bentley will be celebrating their 3-year matchiversary and have been on so many adventures, “from fishing trips, to learning new sports like golf, disc golf, and tennis we have laid a foundation of trust and understanding to go along with our many adventures.” Bentley and his family hold a very special place in Chris’s heart, he shared that, “Bentley doesn’t have a dad in his life, is being raised by a single mom, who works so hard to provide for him, and 4 other siblings. It’s not easy and I can’t even imagine if I had to raise 5 children on my own, she’s a warrior who’s been through many challenges, and I’m so humbled and grateful that I’m able to provide the family some much-needed relief by doing things with Bentley and moving him into possibility.”
Like many other children, Bentley enjoys playing video games, shooting hoops at school, and bike riding around his neighborhood. Bentley is also very motivated and passionate about working towards a bright future. During our Volunteer and Funder Recognition Night on April 4th Chris shared an impactful story about his mentee Bentley,“I want to share a little story about Bentley’s personality and drive. Bentley wants to work in the trades when he’s older. He has researched so much about all the things he needs to do to achieve that goal.”
Bentley has been cutting grass and shovelling snow in his neighbourhood area for the past few years. His mother Kerri told Chris that he had asked her for a lawnmower for his 9th birthday, “ he ended up getting a push lawnmower with birthday money and has been using it to this day, to not only help out his mom with chores around the house and doing their lawn but doing the neighbours lawns as well to save money for his family and future.”
One weekend Chris took Bentley to look at a property that required some landscape work, and asked him if it was something he’d like to do, “I told Bentley he’d get paid to do this and asked him what he would charge after seeing the property…he said “$50”.This was an educational opportunity for Bentley. Having worked with Junior Achievement in the past, I was able to implement their three important pillars into what Bentley was about to learn…Financial literacy, Entrepreneurship and Work Readiness. Bentley learned that had he made a deal for $50 he would have made nothing for his labour. It took us a few hours to do the job, I got us pizza and drinks brought to the jobsite for a break in between. By the end of it, we were both tired, and Bentley was able to learn such a valuable lesson. He was also able to go home with $120 cash and being the sweet kid Bentley was, he asked me if he could take the left-over pizza home to his family. His mom later told me how proud he was of this achievement, that his pride was glowing, and it was truly remarkable that at 12 years old, he was able to do something to support his beautiful family by bringing them home pizza from his day at work. $40/hr at 12 years, I think Bentley has a very promising future.”
In the time Chris and Bentley had together so far, Bentley has come out of his shell and gained a new level of independence and personality. According to Chris, “Bentley’s confidence grows day by day, his mother has noticed how much more confident he is at school and with his friends – something she directly attributes to my mentorship.”
Thank you, Chris, for positively impacting Bentley’s life and for teaching him a valuable lesson about saving for his future. We appreciate your dedication to our agency and to being an amazing mentor for Bentley.
