OXFORD, Miss. – Four years ago, Stephen Taylor was a
marketing student at the University of Mississippi looking
for an opportunity to fulfill scholarship requirements and
give back to the community. He found a chance with the Big
Brothers Big Sisters of Mississippi Program.
An Ole Miss graduate and intern with Grace Bible Church in
Oxford, Taylor, 23, continues his weekly meetings with his
little brother, a fifth-grader named Zach. Taylor and Zach
were matched in 2004 and are the program’s longest running
match.
Once a week, Taylor meets Zach for lunch at school and they
eat, play board games or just talk.
“Stephen is a very laid-back mentor, and Zach just loves
him,” said Erin Baker, program specialist for the Oxford
branch of BBBS of Mississippi.
Of the 100 or so matches each BBBS specialist in Oxford
tries to make annually, 95 percent of those mentors are Ole
Miss students. One is Rachel Macklin, a 21-year-old biology
major from Tupelo. Macklin has been involved in the state
program for seven years and has volunteered with the Oxford
branch for the past four years, mentoring a young girl
named Salena.
Both Macklin and Baker have noticed significant changes in
Salena’s behavior since she became Macklin’s little
sister.
“Rachel and Salena are quite a pair,” Baker said. “Salena
has calmed down and isn’t getting into as much trouble as
before she met Rachel. She is a very expressive young lady
now.”
“She has become more considerate and respectful of her
peers, as well as her teachers,” Macklin said. “She is more
attentive in class.”
The process of becoming a mentor in the program requires an
application process, an interview and background and
reference checks. Before a match can be made, all of the
potential mentor’s background and reference checks must be
positive, Baker said.
“From there, it’s a matter of matching the child’s
available times with the mentor’s available times, the
mentor’s preferences and the parent’s preferences,” Baker
said.
The local chapter of BBBS of Mississippi strives to attract
Ole Miss freshmen in hopes of creating long-lasting
relationships.
“We ask that the mentors commit at least one year to the
child,” Baker said. “Many of them, however, have been
matched for over a year and some even three years now.”
Charlie Dettbarn, 22, a senior history major from Richmond,
Va., tries to meet with her little sister, 10-year-old
Elisha.
Dettbarn, who has volunteered for about a year, helps with
Elisha’s homework at the Boys and Girls Club at Oxford and
sometimes takes her to dinner and for ice cream. Elisha
also has visited Dettbarn’s sorority house on occasion for
dinner.
“Charlie is always planning activities for her and Elisha
to do, and Elisha’s mom is very supportive of their
relationship,” Baker said. “Elisha just needed another role
model in her life.”
Although Dettbarn will be moving back to Virginia after
graduation, she hopes to continue working with the national
program there.
“I am going to miss getting the chance to see Elisha every
week, but I know that we will keep in touch,” she said.
In the four years BBBS has been in Oxford, Baker has
noticed a number of changes in the children who become
little brothers and sisters. For example, Zach has become
less selfish since he has been paired with Taylor, she
said.
“Many of our children have shown an improvement in
self-esteem, as well as in grades and behavior,” she said.
“Having a mentor provides the child with a positive role
model.”
Taylor also has noted changes in Zach during the years he
has mentored him.
“I’ve definitely seen him mature since I first started with
him,” he said. “He doesn’t whine and pout like he used to.”
For more information on the Oxford chapter of BBBS of
Mississippi, go to http://www.bbbsms.org.