March 2017 Match of the Month

​Our Match of the Month this month is Kyieyan and Nancy.  Kyieyan and Nancy have been matched for just under a year, but in that time have developed a really strong, trusting friendship.  Kyieyan is a 12 year old boy who lives with his mom and is the 2nd of 4 kids, so one-on-one time is hard in their household.  He loves football and basketball and really just being active.  He’s also a charmer!  Nancy is retired from NSF….she was a VP and traveled all around the world for her work and is now working her dream job mentoring athletes through the M-PACT program at UofM.  Nancy is a huge Michigan fan, and has shared that love with Kyieyan.  They attended several football, women’s and men’s basketball games and love going to the movies and out to eat. 
 
There are a couple of things that make this match really special.  Nancy has been patient in allowing the trust to build….doing fun things with Kyieyan that peek his interest, but then relates that back to the important ‘lessons’ that a Big can teach a Little.  For instance, when trying to promote reading, Nancy might have Kyieyan read her things from the game programs.  And when he made the basketball team at his school, they starting talking more about attendance and grades, in order to remain eligible.  Once, when at the park, Kyieyan littered….and they ended up having a great conversation about all of the trash along the roads, and what if everyone littered, and the roads were full of trash.  The next time they went to the movie, when the lights came up, Kyieyan started walking around and picking up the trash.  When Nancy asked him what he was doing, he said, “I’m picking up all f the trash, because if not, then who will”. 
 
I could go on and on….from Halloween costume shopping stories, to serious topics of conversations after movies, to just grabbing a bite to eat and catching up.  Nancy’s consistency and the commitment that she’s shown to Kyieyan has allowed him to trust her, and that’s where the real growing between a Big and a Littles begins to happen!
 
We absolutely adore the both of them!