Where does our time go? If you’re like me, that’s a question that often comes to mind. It’s especially true as one year comes to a close and a new one begins. Time doesn’t really go anywhere; it just passes as we use or spend it. And although in the proper context it’s true that time is money, how do we place a value on such a nebulous yet precious commodity? Sometimes the value can be in how we share our time with others.

Over two decades of serving as CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii, I’ve come to appreciate the value of time differently than I did when I was younger. I’ve been privileged to see many examples of how volunteer Bigs — short for Big Brothers and Big Sisters — give their personal time and attention to children who face adversity in their young lives, whom we refer to as Little Brothers and Little Sisters, or simply Littles.

What’s even more interesting is that to a person, our volunteer Bigs say that they feel they get more out of the relationship with their Littles than they give, expressed in words such as fulfilling and becoming more self-aware and appreciative.

January is National Mentoring Month, and as one our state’s oldest and largest one-to-one mentoring organizations, Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii celebrates the enormous impact our volunteer Bigs make on their Littles. From the boy with no dad who lived in low-income Kalakaua Housing in the 1960s and grew up to be CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii (yes, that was me), to the girl whose family was homeless for more than two years while she was in high school, yet who graduated from the University of Hawaii with a double major in journalism and communications in May 2018, we’ve had thousands of success stories over the past 55 years. In each case, a caring adult or teen became a friend to a child, and by sharing their time and friendship, helped the child navigate the fragile journey along life’s path to become a responsible, caring adult.

Our group helps families improve the odds that their Littles will perform better in school, avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. Our model is very basic, yet powerful. While our staff provides ongoing support and training to each volunteer, almost anyone can be a Big because it doesn’t require special skills or education. All that’s required is the right motivation and a willingness to spend a few hours a month to befriend a child or youth similar to a sister or brother; not so much like a parent or authority figure.

Statewide, we serve more than 600 children and youth in one-to-one mentoring relationships and support their 600-plus volunteer mentors each year. With the need in our state, we could easily serve 1,000 or more each year if we could recruit that many more volunteers. Our need is mostly for males as we have a wait list of boys. And though we continue to welcome women, we don’t receive as many requests for Big Sisters.

With the promise of another year’s worth of friendship to give, I hope you’ll consider investing some time to help a child, or to enroll your child if you need help. Befriending a child can be a wonderful way to spend your time.

For more, see Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii online at www.bbbshawaii.org, or call 521-3811.