Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii Island members have honored Jerold Cabel as their 2014 School-Based Big Brother of the Year. Cabel has been a Big Brother to his Little Brother Nathan for the past two years at Keaau Elementary
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii Island members have honored Jerold Cabel as their 2014 School-Based Big Brother of the Year. Cabel has been a Big Brother to his Little Brother Nathan for the past two years at Keaau Elementary School’s mentoring program and was nominated as his senior class president. He also serves as the Treasurer for his school’s National Honor Society.
“My experience with my Little Brother has been life changing. Being an only child for 14 years, I had never felt the feeling of being a brother. Now I have a 4-year-old brother that I truly love and my reason for joining Big Brothers Big Sisters was to gain more experience as an older brother,” said Cabel.
He hopes to study nursing and would like to become a pediatrician. When asked about his relationship with his Little Brother, Cabel said, “I feel we have a connection. He isn’t afraid to tell me things and he asks me for help. Nathan is a very athletic kid. When I first met him, I was very nervous, but excited to be his Big Brother and his role model. I teach him life lessons and give him advice in school. I help him finish his homework and make sure he has a great time afterwards. We exchange stories to entertain each other and every time we are together, there is never a dull moment.”
When asked about his Big Brother, Little Brother Nathan said, “Jerold is a good Big. He is the best Big Brother for me! He is my friend.”
“The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever,” explained spokeswoman Ashley Nunes of BBBS-Hawaii. “We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people by making meaningful, monitored matches between qualified volunteers (‘Bigs’) and children (‘Littles’), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the state.
“As part of the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii mentoring programs have proven, positive impact for youth in the areas of academics, socio-emotional and behavioral outcomes, high school graduation rates, avoidance of juvenile delinquency and college or career readiness,” said Nunes.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii is a statewide organization that serves over 700 children as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii Island, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kauai, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui. For more info, visit www.bbbshawaii.org.
