Wednesday, June 17, 2015

June Match Spotlight: Quinton and Steve

Big Brother, Steve Schmitt and Little Brother, Quinton have been matched for over three years in the School Based program. Steve originally got involved with BBBS in the 70s and has had several Littles over the years. When Steve’s match with Quinton first started, Quinton was in third grade at Lincoln Elementary. Quinton was enrolled in the program to aid with his frustration and anger issues.

Over the years, Steve has helped Quinton with these issues by providing him with techniques to use when he gets upset. During their time at Lincoln, Quinton spent time showing Steve how to do origami and make duct tape flower pens. The match also enjoyed playing games together.

This school year Quinton began middle school at George Washington Carver Academy which opened up new opportunities to the match. During their first visit in the fall, the match took a tour of Quinton’s new school. This exploration led the match to find the school’s greenhouse and Quinton was very intrigued by it. The match ended up helping the teacher with tasks in the greenhouse nearly every week. Each week the match was given jobs to do (spraying, measuring, potting, etc.) and worked for the entire hour together. The school really appreciated the help and Quinton really took a strong interest in it. The match rarely missed a week of meeting this school year due to Steve’s dedication to the program and Quinton’s commitment to school.

Although Steve admits that gardening is not his strong suit, he enjoys doing whatever is of interest to Quinton. Steve says he has learned a lot from Quinton over the course of their match. In a note to Steve earlier this year for National Mentoring month, Quinton wrote: "thank you for getting me through some struggles and giving me laughter and joy. I appreciate what you have done for me."

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