Big Sister Katy says she knows she benefited from mentors in her own life, people who had supported and pushed her to reach her potential. “My father, a high school principal, often mentioned to me if more children had a mentor – a positive, trusted person – in their lives, opportunities would look a lot different for them,” Katy says. Now, she’s playing that role for Little Sister Trina, a child who bounced from her birth mother to foster care in her early life, before being adopted at age 3.

As a football coach, Big Brother Tohib saw that boys truly needed positive adult role models. Growing up, he had caring parents who pushed him to reach his potential. “They never settled for ‘good,’” he says. “I always had to work harder.” With his parents’ encouragement, Tohib went to school for finance and earned his Master’s degree. He wanted to give back and help kids who might not have such positive adults in their lives, so he became a Big Brother. He was matched with Little Brother Makhari.