Nate Fong can tell story after story about miraculous things he’s seen. It’s like he’s found the antidote for losing faith in mankind. He has witnessed so much goodness.

“It’s really powerful. I love this program,” he said.

January is National Mentoring Month, and Fong has devoted much of his life to supporting the magic of a great mentoring relationship. For 42 years, Fong has been a case manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii.

“He’s our top staff fundraiser, coordinates lots of activities throughout the year for our matches, and runs our scholarship program,” said Dennis Brown, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii. “We talk so much about our line of work being ‘all about the relationships’ we create and support to help children and youth succeed, and Nate epitomizes that by the hundreds of friendships he’s made, nurtured and maintained over the years.”

Fong graduated from McKinley in ’64, went to college in California, and was just out of graduate school when a friend told him that Big Brothers Big Sisters was looking for a social worker.

“I knew I wanted to work with kids but didn’t know what to do. I thought maybe juvenile probation, and then I did a grad school practicum in that field,” Fong shook his head. That wasn’t a good fit. But Big Brothers Big Sisters was different. He was 27 years old when he got the job and has been there ever since. “One of the reasons I love this job is because it’s prevention, not intervention. This program is so positive.”

Fong interviews potential volunteers and gets to know the children before pairing them up with a Big Brother or Big Sister. Once a Big and Little are matched, Fong keeps in contact with them. The community-based program asks the Big to pick up the Little at home and do stuff on their own time several times a month.

Fong also organizes group activities for the matches, like hikes, picnics and service projects. Sometimes, it’s a special tour for a small group. Often, it’s a big event, like a picnic for 200 people.

“The kids say, ‘I got to do things I didn’t think I’d ever do,’” he said. “But it doesn’t really matter what the activity is. Once the kids latch on, it doesn’t matter what you do. It’s the time that you spend with them.”

Most of the Littles come through school referrals or because their parent heard good things about the program and is looking for support for the child. The Littles come from single-parent homes, and many don’t live with their biological parents. Fong has many families where uncle, auntie or grandparents are raising children.

“I give them credit. Many of them make amazing sacrifices.”

He cited one of his cases — a single woman who was planning to move to the mainland to pursue career opportunities but gave up her plans when four of her nephews needed her. The boys were taken by Child Protective Services because their parents were caught up with drugs, living on beaches, sleeping in cars.

“The auntie sacrificed her plans, stayed in Hawaii and took her nephews in,” Fong said. “Her heart just went out to them.”

The woman exhausted her savings caring for the boys, but found ways to get them what they needed. “She would do things like buy one big beach towel and cut it into sections so each boy could have his own towel.” Fong recalled.

Each boy was matched with his own Big Brother, and their transformations were dramatic. The four became confident, well-behaved, appreciative. One who initially couldn’t make eye contact with adults became a polished public speaker and advocate for the program.

Fong has so many stories like that — kids who went from major attitude problems to student body president, children whose self-esteem soared just by having someone outside the family to talk to.

Fong remembers one Little who loved the program so much, he vowed to become a Big someday. On his 16th birthday, he walked into the office to sign up to volunteer. Fong had to tell him that he needed to be at least 18. Undeterred, the boy went to an elementary school in his neighborhood and, on his own, asked if any kid there needed a mentor. Later, on his 18th birthday, he came back to the office to apply to volunteer.

“One thing I admire and respect about our Bigs is that they are doing it from the heart,” Fong said. “They don’t get paid one cent and expenses incurred during an outing between the Big/Little are the Big’s responsibility.”

What makes for a good mentor is pretty basic: Safety for the child is the utmost concern, and after that, a good mentor is someone who is consistent.

“We look for someone we can rely on. The kids don’t need another adult making promises they can’t keep,” Fong said. “If the mentor is inconsistent, it’s just like their absent parent.”

During his time with the program, he has seen former Bigs and Littles trying to find each other even 50 years after their match. The connections endure.

In this way, he can relate.

He was in junior college at Santa Rosa, far from home and not very focused. He has some great memories of those days, like cooking saimin in the dorm room using a clothes iron balanced upside down between two bricks. “We killed that iron. But we didn’t have a hot plate. Didn’t have microwaves back then.”

But he wasn’t diligent about studying or going to class and was taking so long to finish his coursework. Friends joked he was part of the faculty. One of his closest friends, a young man from a poor family who had to work his way through college, took Fong aside and told him just how lucky he was to have parents who sent him to school and paid his way.

“When I was messing around, he set me straight with a few choice words.” He’s had other mentors over the years, but that one holds a special place for him. The two men are still friends after all these years.

Fong is 69 years old and says he thinks about retiring, “… but I don’t know how. It’s really hard to keep away from this.”

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.