Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Indiana is pleased to announce our 2021 Big and Little Brother of the Year. Meet Big Brother Matthew & Little Brother Detravion and hear their amazing story below.
Matthew and Detravion were matched two weeks before Covid hit the Tri-State area in 2020. When you look at the resilience that’s what you see with this match. With only having one outing before the county shut down, Big Brother Matthew did everything he could to make his match succeed and that his Little Brother got the same experience other children were getting, just in a different way.
Steering from the traditional in-person activities he got creative and interacted on their love of video games. With a plethora of Xbox points, Matthew bought two months of Xbox Live for him and his little to interact during quarantine and play some of their favorite games too! Once quarantine was over Matthew and Detravion shared their love for the outdoors doing long hikes, SkyZone, boat trips, arcades, and fishing to name a few.
When transiting from in-person instruction to virtual schooling Detravion struggled but his
guardian was able to reach out to Matthew for support and help. Detravion went from not
liking school and getting below-average grades to engaging in school and understanding and
excelling. Matthew was always there to talk with Detravion about his classes and help when
needed. Matthew helped serve as a male role model for him. Matthew has stepped into a role where not only is a Big Brother, but a role model, advice giver, and friend.
Matthew is what Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mission is all about. He creates that one-to-one relationship that ignites the power and promise of youth as well as gives his Little Brother the tools to achieve his full potential.
Detravion stated that Matthew is special because he cares about him and that they do a lot of fun things together.
When asked what she enjoys most about the relationship, Detravion’s guardian stated that
Matthew is like family and that she is grateful for the relationship that has formed with her son. Matthew is consistent and shares her son’s interests and builds on them in their time together!
Matthew and Detravion’s story is one of many outstanding matches we have in our program.
We love seeing the difference one-to-one mentoring makes in a child’s life. Join us in
congratulating them both on a wonderful job!
Congratulations to Matthew & Detravion!
Watch their full story here
If you’re interested in becoming a Big Brother like Matthew visit mentoringkids.org/volunteer or call us at 812-425-6076!
