Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area is helping change the
lives
of children
– and adults
Before Jeff Cole recently moved to San Jose, he commuted from his home in Morgan Hill to Santa Clara several times a month to visit his “little brother,” Michael Reinhardt. They aren’t related by blood – they met through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area more than three years ago, and they’ve been buddies ever since.
“At first I didn’t even know what the Big Brothers Big Sisters program was about,” said Michael, who began the program when he was 8. He is now 11. “But since I don’t have a big guy to pal around with, I thought it would be really fun. And, I guess since I don’t have a dad, Jeff is probably the closest thing I have.”
Jeff said he initially got involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program as a way to give back to the community, and, because he has no children of his own, to hopefully provide a solid male influence to a child in the same way his own father provided one for him.
“I didn’t really have any expectations, other than hanging out and doing things together with Michael,” said Jeff, 42. “His mom interviewed me first, and when I finally met him, we hit it off like two peas in a pod. We’ve done all kinds of stuff. I’ve gone to some school functions, we go to Dave & Busters and O.D. on video games, we’ll have lunch – Red Robin is his favorite place to go for our burger fix – and go to the movies. We’ve gone hiking and horseback riding. I enjoy doing it all; it makes me laugh, makes me smile, and he gets to share his experiences with me and I get to share mine with him.”
Michael’s mother, Robin, said she decided to enroll Michael in the program because she’s a single mom, and a family member who had volunteered as a Big Brother in the Central Valley had had a good experience with the program. She said she was leery at first and made sure she wasn’t far from where Michael and Jeff went for the first few outings.
“Jeff was great and he was willing to work with my initial apprehension, which made me feel better, but I felt even better when I Googled his name and nothing came back,” she said, laughing. “And it’s been great. Whenever Michael is going to go out with Jeff, he perks right up and gets a big smile and sparkly eyes. He loves Jeff. He’s a boy, and I think he struggles a little bit to figure out how he’s supposed to feel about this man that isn’t related to him, but he does love him.”
Michael said Jeff is a “really cool guy” and one of his best friends. He happily recounts past outings and speaks of time spent with Jeff with a singular affection.
“Jeff is like a science wizard, and we always have science projects to do for school, so he’ll come over and help me or he’ll call me and help me over the phone,” Michael said. “He went to one of my class plays when I was one of the leaders, and he was there rooting me on. It was really cool that he came. I also helped him move. He had all kinds of boxes, and it wasn’t just a one-man job. If I hadn’t been there to help him, he would have thrown his back out or something.”
Jeff brags about Michael in the same way any other older brother would brag about his little brother. He talks about how smart Michael is and how he’s an expert on classic rock music. Despite his own longtime affinity for golf, Jeff isn’t shy about describing how Michael is starting to challenge him at miniature golf.
Morgan Hill resident Chris Campbell is a new Big Brother hoping to develop a relationship similar to the one Michael and Jeff share. Campbell has been part of the program for about four months and said he’s already having a great time with his Little Brother.
“I’d been interested in doing this for a number of years, and I just hadn’t gotten around to it until recently,” he said. “(My Little Brother) is in fifth grade, and I think we’ve already become good buddies. I’m a friend to go out with, throw a ball around with, we’ll go to the movies or sometimes he’ll just bend my ear. I’ve seen him just about every week since we started, and I find myself really looking forward to it.”
Chris, 45, doesn’t have children of his own, but he grew up with four younger brothers. He said being a brother and having two supportive parents was a huge influence in his life, and he hoped to be able to provide a similar influence to someone else.
“I hope it’s a pay-it-forward situation,” he said. “I hope I can make a difference to my Little Brother and that one day, when he’s older, he can help someone else in whatever way he chooses.”
Chris and his Little Brother are still getting to know each other and developing trust, but he’s been to his Little Brother’s baseball games, they’ve played miniature golf and tennis, gone to the batting cages, and played video games.
“He beats my butt in video games – I have no clue,” Chris said, laughing. “His mom is great, and she’s done an amazing job, but there are things she’s just not interested in, like athletics, so I help fill those gaps for (my Little Brother). We can go out, run around and do boy stuff. I’m having fun, but doing this also just gives you an intrinsically good feeling. I’m glad I decided to volunteer.”
