MILWAUKEE — Three-time NBA All-Star Khris Middleton has been the ambassador for Big Brothers Big Sisters since about 2019, according to President and CEO Neil Willenson, who said that Middleton has done a lot for their organization on 620 WTMJ’s The Upswing with Jeff Sherman.
“He’s just a wonderful man,” he said. “He runs clinics for our kids. He does father-son events right on the court [in] Fiserv Forum. He had a movie night for us where we had about 130-140 of our participants there. He’s just a tremendous guy, and we’re honored to call him our friend.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentorship organization that provides young people ages 6 through 16 with mentors all around Waukesha and Milwaukee Counties. Willenson said they’ve served 1500 kids in the area in 2023. They are preparing to open a “Mentor Zone” around late April 2024, planning to serve 1700 youth this year.
The overall goal is to speed up the process of their 500-person waiting list, but until then, this new clubhouse-sized downtown building will provide opportunities for those who are waitlisted.
How will the Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentor Zone impact the community?
“Our existing matches… we have hundreds of adults in the community that every week take a child out for a fun outing. They can now come to Mentor Zone and do games and homework and STEM projects,” he explained. “But then for the children on the waiting list, we’re going to have some group-facilitated activities. So we’re really excited for the launch of Mentor Zone in just a few months.”
He said the 3,500-square-foot facility will be on the lower level of their building near Cathedral Square. This area is being developed and decorated thanks to the many donors they work with.
“We’re going to appeal to some of our cooperate partners to build some STEM labs there. There’s an old bar counter we’re going to use for refreshments. There’s a stage where we’re talking about having a Big Brothers Big Sisters Choir and some performance nights,” he said. “It’s all about giving kids an opportunity and really through the efforts of mentorship. So it’s not about basketball and sports… it’s about after school… passing information from one generation to the next. That’s what mentorship is all about.”
Willenson said they’re urging more people to apply to be a mentor for their program, and he said the commitment to being a mentor can vary depending on what option people want to do.
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“[The commitment] can be as much as a few hours a week if you are in our community-based program… Or in our school-based program you visit the child at the school, you do homework, might have lunch with them, might hang out at recess, might hang out with other matches, and that might be an hour a week,” he said. “Then our mentor 2.0 program is about job, career and college readiness… it’s a couple of hours a month.”
Willenson said this program is “for anyone that has something to give.” He explained how a current executive once spoke at their gala, and it was the highlight of the event because he used to be a student in the program.
“Now decades later he’s a successful man, and he really attributes part of that to his [time in the program],” he said. “This gives you an opportunity to make a profound, transformative, and lifelong impact for a young person.”
Anyone from business professionals to community members can sign up to be a mentor on their Big Brothers Big Sisters website.
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