A BIG Thank You to Big Brother Buford
At the heart of our mission are our exceptional volunteers, whose dedication and hard work have significantly impacted our agency and the lives of our Littles. One such extraordinary individual is Big Brother Buford, who has devoted 45 years to volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana. Buford’s commitment to enhancing children’s lives extends beyond our agency, impacting countless young people throughout the community. His loyalty and dedication serve as an inspiring example to us all.
Now 96 years old, Buford began mentoring when he was 46 years old and stopped for health reasons only five years ago. He has been an active community member, always finding ways to help the youth for much of his life.
“Well, I have never been married, never had kids, but I like kids, and I think that’s why I joined. Besides Big Brothers, I was a foster parent for eleven years, and I had sixteen foreign exchange kids. So, I did a lot with kids,” said Buford.
During his time volunteering at the agency, he mentored six Littles in total. Three of these Littles he met through the First Friends program, which was an interim mentoring service for Littles on the waitlist.
“How they did later on, I don’t know, but at the time they seemed to really enjoy it,” Buford said about the program’s impact on his Littles.
Buford was simultaneously mentoring through the Community-Based program. Over the years, he was matched with three Littles in this program. Although they did a lot during their time together, Buford remembers a few of their go-to activities. Often, his Littles would come to his house and ride horses, or they’d go to school events together. Since one of his Littles played soccer, he would also support him by attending his games. And while his Little was still learning, Buford would take him down to Manchester College so he could practice there. But by far, one of his favorite things to do with his Little Brothers was go to the hockey games with them.
“We went a lot to the hockey games, in fact, I had season tickets. And that’s back before they raised the roof, so my Little Brother would sit on the floor, and whenever there were fights my Little Brother would get up and start hitting that glass like everybody else! I think that there were about forty games on the card,” said Buford.
Despite watching Big Brothers Big Sisters grow over the 45 years he volunteered, Buford says the mission and heart of the organization hasn’t changed since he first joined. However, he does say that the nonprofit has expanded a lot since, spreading into different parts of Northeast Indiana and serving more children than ever before. In fact, when he started mentoring in 1974, the Agency was still known as “Big Brothers” not Big Brothers Big Sisters!
And Buford has done his share in spreading the mission and love of Big Brothers Big Sisters to others too. When his niece retired, he knew she had the perfect personality and opportunity to be a Big Sister. With his encouragement, she took that leap and became a School Buddy last school year.
“She retired, and she didn’t really know what to do, and I knew her personality. She was crazy about her grandkids, but they live in other places. And I thought that would be a very good deal for her, and a good way to start would be School Buddies. Maybe later she could become a Community-Based Big Sister.”
When asked what advice he has for those considering volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters, he had this to say:
“Just do it. It’s that simple. Just the fact that you might be changing a little kid’s life.”
Wanting to make a difference? Learn more about volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters here. Wanting to take the next step? Start the application process here.
