"Who was that one person that made you feel special?"

Marc and Ernesto

Marc Connell of Tustin had a nephew growing up in a single parent home in a high crime neighborhood.  Marc saw his nephew periodically, and even took him camping.  He was concerned about the boy’s home environment, telling his wife that the boy “was on the verge of going bad.”

Several years passed, and the nephew became involved in drugs and gangs.  At age 20, he was killed in a confrontation with police.  The tragic incident was the catalyst for Marc to take action: he became a Big Brother.

“I was sick of talking about it, I wanted to do something,” he recalled.

He was matched with a teenage boy, Ernesto, also from Tustin, nearly three years ago.  Today, Ernesto is age 16, and has made tremendous progress through his relationship with Marc.

“Ernesto was very quiet and withdrawn when we first met.  It took time to break down the barriers, but today he’s become much more vocal, active and confident.”

Marc and Ernesto meet about twice monthly, and go to movies, play videogames, visit bookstores, take hikes, go to the beach and the mall, or even spend time throwing around a football.  Marc, 34, is able to spend time with his Little Brother even though he has two children of his own and runs a mortgage business.

“Some potential ‘Bigs’ think it’s a huge time commitment and it’s not,” opined Marc.  “All it takes is some effective time management.”

In an effort to persuade more people to volunteer as Big Brothers or Sisters he helped found the “Think Big” Committee, which not only recruits but seeks to retain “Bigs.”  The fledgling group has nine members, and is planning an orientation day for potential Bigs in February.

“When you’re making your resolutions for the New Year, maybe becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister should be one of them,” noted Marc.