Jaiden and Carl - Match of the Month

Jaiden is a kind and intelligent 9-year-old boy, who lives with his mom, grandma, and three sisters. In between his occasional visits with his father, he lacked a strong male role model that he could relate to, and Carl stepped in to provide that male perspective he needed. Carl had just moved to Washtenaw County to attend dentistry school, and he was eager to give back to the community. He signed up to become a Big Brother after seeing an ad for our local agency and talking to his sister, who had also recently signed up to be a Big.

Jaiden and Carl have been matched for over a year, and it is amazing to see how far their relationship has come. Because they are both very active, they have been on countless adventures together such as canoeing, paddle boating, going to the Hands On Museum, and going to Detroit Pistons games -- all of which were new experiences for Jaiden! We love seeing Jaiden and Carl interact at group events because they are clearly so comfortable together! At our kickball day, they had so much energy from playing kickball that they took a long walk afterwards around the park, just talking and enjoying each other’s company. The two have lot in common: they both love chicken, laser tag, and dancing.  However, Carl says that his favorite thing to do with Jaiden is just to hang out with him and chat about his life. He loves listening to Jaiden share his interests and ambitions.

Spending time with Carl has given Jaiden the opportunity to hone his strengths and develop his own sense of self -- something that Carl says he really wishes for Jaiden to have. Jaiden is talented at math, and he loves showing this off to his proud Big Brother. He says that he aspires to become a teacher one day. Carl also takes time to have important conversations with Jaiden while they’re on outings. He talks to Jaiden about the importance of online safety, manners while going out to eat, and, recently, the important contributions that MLK, Jr. had on our world.

At BBBS, we use the acronym REACH (Recreation, Education and career, Arts and culture, Community service, and Health and wellness) to guide our matches to be well-rounded in how they spend their outings. Jaiden and Carl are the epitome of the REACH mindset. They are looking forward to another fun year of learning, growing, and giving back together.

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