LEX 18 presents a podcast with hot takes, hot
topics with your hosts Megan Manering and Evelyn
Schulz. This is Hot Mic. Hey everyone. And welcome
back to another episode of Hot Mic. It is going
to be a great day. I think we're going to leave
this episode feeling a little inspired. I agree.
We might be putting a little bit of pressure
on our guests today. A little bit. She is the
glue that holds big brothers, big sisters together.
Executive Director Meredith Watts. Welcome to
Hot Mic. I am so excited to be here. This is
very exciting. Thank you all for having me. Have
you ever been on a podcast before? No. This is
the debut. This is it. You're actually perfect
though for a podcast not only because you know
You lead big brothers big sisters of the bluegrass,
but you're a talker. I'm a yapper You know that
it's gonna be a good episode when Robert when
the director is telling you like, okay, we gotta
go Talking so much before we even hit we're losing
daylight here. Yeah Okay. Well, let's start from
the very beginning, Meredith. I want to know,
where did you grow up? We were kind of talking
about this a minute ago, but what was your childhood
like? Okay, so I grew up in Woodford County.
So I'm a local girl. I'm from here. And I loved
it. I grew up in downtown Versailles. I live
in Midway now. I went to elementary school in
Woodford County and then I stayed at local and
I went to University of Kentucky. But my childhood
was great. I grew up in Woodford County. So pretty
much everything that you could dream of, very
small town feel. We had like three elementary
schools, one middle school, one high school.
So you grew up with... everybody. You went through
the whole school system with the same people.
And so I'm still very close with tons of people
from my high school. And I live there now. And
so it's thriving and it's really fun to see.
So it's a great place. And you're taking your
golf cart. Yes. So we're in Midway. So I will
say Midway's, you know, Midway's got my heart
right now. Now, Versailles is, you know, that's
home, but Midway's my new home right now. And
Midway's amazing because it is. It's very small
town. It's very Hallmark. It's very, um, it's
It's kind of surreal for a lot of people because
we realize a lot of people that come and just
visit, but for us, we really do. We live like
right over the railroad track. You can take your
golf cart down. You can go to the restaurants,
go to the shops. You know, everybody, everybody
waves and yeah, your neighbors really become
your family. It's some people are next door neighbor
moved in and he was like, Does everybody know
everyone here? People were just talking to me
downtown at the post office and he's like, I
don't know about all this. And I'm like, oh no.
I'll send my neighbor with my P .O. Box keys
and be like, can you just go get my mail for
a little bit? It's amazing. I love that. There
aren't too many places like that, it feels like
anymore, right? No. It's safe. It has a bubble.
And I used to think like, oh, it's a little small.
I'm still coming from Lexington, you know? I
was like, we're still moving and grooving. And
now I'm like, no. Let me get home. Let me get
to Midway. I just want to like tuck myself in
at home and it's great. This is like an ad for
Midway. I love it. Get me to Midway. Our slogan
is like meet me in Midway. I want to meet you
in Midway. Come on. And you are a young mom.
You have two young kids and they are adorable.
Love seeing under two, two under two. Well, now
we've officially graduated the last month, the
two under two. But yes, we had two under two
for a couple of months. And that is everything
that people say it is very exciting, a lot of
energy, a lot of big feelings. Very exciting
time. But no, it's, it's amazing. It's a fun
place to raise them too. Yes. Well, and it's,
it's helpful because since you get to know your
neighbors so well, like it really takes a village.
Like, I mean, that statement I knew because I,
I grew up that way. I grew up with a lot of aunts
and uncles who weren't technically my aunt and
uncle, but they were my parents, friends or neighbors.
And they were really involved in my life. And
so I felt like that's kind of lost in this new
generation. But I'm really grateful because in
Midway, like my neighbors really are part of
my family. And so my kids can go to their house,
they can help me. If I've got like both kids
and like a grocery run in my trunk, like they'll
just see and pop over and help me carry groceries
in the house. Like things like that are It's
just, it's incredible. Yeah. You don't get that
everywhere. You're right. Makes it special. Okay.
Are they, you have two boys? I have a girl and
a boy. The oldest. Yep. And then a older, I have
a two year old. She just turned two and then
a just turned four month old boy. Okay. What
are some of the funny things that they say or
do? I feel like babies, toddlers can really crack
you up. I used to think that people, when they
told stories about like, my child said this and
it'd be something hysterical and you'd be like,
did they really say that? Like, probably not.
And that, you know, but you're just like, okay.
by the time she's two, she's like looking at
me and talking to me in a way that I am like,
I need to put a mic on you. You are so funny.
She would sit right here and she would, she'd
be like, no mama, no mama. Like everything is
just, and it's the seriousness at which she says
it, which is so funny. So she'll, she's really
into now like, yeah, oh yes. But it's a major.
Everything is, oh yes. I'll say, oh, did you
have fun? Oh, yes. I had such a good time. And
it's her, like, the emphasis on just all of her
work. It's so funny. And then just her trying
to communicate her day, you know, she's... Brilliant.
But we're still working on words. Oh, yeah. And
so just her navigating that in those conversations.
It's so funny. It's hysterical. And then the
little guy's four months. He's not doing too
much just yet. He's literally just smiling and
happy to be alive. Like, he is as chill as they
come. He is so sweet and just smile. All he does,
he just smiles. He is very just happy to be there.
How is she adjusting to being? A big sister.
She loves it. She loves it a little too much
to wear. I'm like, sometimes I'm like, no, no,
no, no, no. Like he's sleeping and she's like,
Bobby. And she'll like run across the room. I'm
like, Oh, like, yeah. So she's very affectionate
with his like face. She comes home with her like
daycare sticky hands and she's like, let me,
yeah. Like I don't need to, you know. We don't
need both everyone's sick in this house. Yeah,
she but she's amazing. So it's very sweet. I
love it Okay, I'm curious but both of my brothers
have young kids. Yeah, I'm kind of in that in
that zone Is there a kid show that they're watching
right now that you despise? No, honestly, and
I'm not a popular answer. I feel really fortunate
right now. Blair loves to read, so TV will be
on, but it's not really her jam. She also can't
really sit still. I try so hard. just like a
cuddle pile. Like, let's all get together Saturday
morning. Like, can we just like slow down and
just like, I will turn on a TV and you can watch
it like I don't. And she will not know like we
have places to go things to do. Like she puts
her like rain boots on by like 7am. Oh, we've
got to go. That's inspiring me. Yes. So she's
the one thing that she absolutely loves is Barney.
Yeah. I've seen pictures. She has, doesn't she
have a, like a stuffed Barney? Yes, she has a
stuffed baby bop. And bop is it. Love that. But
I was kind of excited because that's like our
childhood totally missed it a little bit. But
Barney, man, Barney has good lessons. He's Barney
does not age. No, I mean that purple glowing,
glowing dinosaur skin. I had my husband put on
an inflatable. He's already six four, but I had
him put an inflatable Barney costume for her
first birthday. So it made him like six, whatever
she didn't. Love it. But all the adults did.
Was she fearful of... I think, yeah, it was just
all of a sudden kind of like... That was and
then tried coming here and she was like no No,
very dramatic. No Don't do that. So um, but I
you know, we've we still have it. So in case
she's a little bit older I'll be right again.
Yeah third birthday. Maybe you never know when
that'll come in handy. Yeah, honestly, it's It's
day. Yeah Barney what so they're they're not
clamoring for miss Rachel or anything. I mean
Barney feels like Yeah, maybe the best. Very
classy. I will tell you it is not annoying in
the background. It is not like, it's not repetitive.
There's not a lot of and it's not a cartoon.
So it's just humans on the screen. And so she
kind of she'll watch it. And it's all everything's
a lesson, you know, please and thank yous and
all the things so right now but ask me in two
weeks. And it could be we have discovered something
via daycare that I'm like, Oh, here we go. Let's
turn that on. This is great. My gosh. Is it true
that daycare is kind of like a little bit of
a cesspool? Like are the kids always getting
sick? They always always Yeah, no, it's everything
that you've ever heard of. It is I mean, it's
it's like a little wild west like you drop off
in it's hysterical too, because Like, it reminds
me of, like, that scene in Toy Story where all
the little aliens are like, ooh. Like, you drop
one off and all of a sudden eight toddlers just
run over to you and they're like, hug, you. And
I'm like, it's so sweet. And they all hug each
other. And they, like, all kiss each other. It's
so sweet. But you don't maybe want them to be
kissing all winter. No, because she comes home.
And I mean, it's out of every... And I'm like,
what? No. And it's funny, because by the time,
so our first one, I was like, in a bubble, like
we are, like, no, we are hands washing, everything's
clean, like, we've got, yes, oh, the holidays,
like, not my baby, like, we are keeping everyone.
And now she's been in daycare. We have a second
one and it's like, let's go. Like everybody,
we don't have time. She's, that's not, but we've
got to go. Like, so it's yeah, but it's exactly
what you think it is. Oh my gosh. That's so funny.
I was the oldest of four and about two years
apart down the line. And I think by the time
my parents got to the fourth, it was just like,
yeah, whatever's going to happen is going to
happen here because factually. And probably going
from one to two is also like, whoa. Yes. Well,
my brother has four and it's the same every two.
And so we are, she's the fifth, my oldest. So
there was a lot of learning and watching and
I was like, Oh good. I know how this goes, but
yeah, you could see by, yeah, by the fourth,
you're just like, anything goes totally. By the
second, you're just like, Oh, we, we can't stay
or you don't want to be locked at home all weekend.
especially during the winter, you're kind of
like, okay, we got to get out. And you've got
places to go. You're a working mom. You have
a lot of places. Yeah, you're busy. What has
that been like transitioning to being a working
mom? That has been it's honestly, I think it's
been so hard. I mean, it's that's, again, probably
not a very popular. No, but it's not like so
you can say you can be honest. Honestly, I think
it was very, very hard. I I think you are pulled
into completely opposite directions with they
don't compare like your children always come
first. But you've got something that you are
I work in a nonprofit. So it's a very mission
oriented something I'm extremely personally passionate
about. So it doesn't really feel like your normal
job. It's something that you're going to work
because you care about it. You love the people
that you work with you work for a mission. And
then you have your children and your family.
And so for me, it made me think, okay, if I'm
going to spend time away from my kids, I better
believe in what I'm doing, or I better really
be okay with what I'm doing with that time away
from them. And I know that's a luxury thought
for a lot of people, but I did not find it easy
at all. I still don't. We did drop off this morning
and she's just crying, you know, you're just
crying and hugging and the whole time you're
like, okay, let's just go home and like cuddle.
I get it. So it's been hard, but I will say the
more I actually open up and talk to people about
like, Hey, I'm having a really hard time with
this. More people actually will share that with
me and give me a little bit more like personal
insight. I was talking to actually I was talking
to someone who's a doctor about it. And she was
like, girl, I had two little ones in my first
year where I was officially, I guess not a resident,
but above a resident. Yeah. And she was like,
imagine going to school and it's your whole dream.
And then I had two under two and how to she was
like, it was the most confusing thing ever. And
so it's, I think it's gotten a lot easier. I
think just anything as you get older, you feel
more confident in setting boundaries or you feel
more confident in your decisions. But I think
it did not come natural for me to leave the two.
And I think I'm still working on it. So if you
see my babies at work, it's just because I wanted
them there that day. And I was just like, let's
come to work with mom because I want to spend
time with you and allow you to do that. Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah. It's amazing. Where I at Big Brothers
Big Sisters, it's funny. I'm the only one right
now that's in the season of littles a lot of
my co -workers have Older elementary or high
school and it is so inspiring because they are
some of the most well -adjusted Amazing kids
and it's so fun seeing them like talk to their
parents and they come in and talk to me and I
don't know we constantly get told like this generation
and I'm like I need those 14, 15 year olds a
day and I'm blown away at how awesome they are.
And so it's fun because we've really tried to
make it the environment of like, we need to practice
what we preach. Like we need to be about, you
know, wellness for the community, wellness for
families. And I realized I'm not the best boss
or I'm not the best friend or person that I am
if I'm just trying to like exclude both parts
of my life. Like I have to intertwine them. to
feel like I'm giving a good amount of money,
if that makes sense. Yes. From our perspective,
you are balancing it all beautifully. Very nice.
So we aspire to be like that one day. Oh, gosh.
Thank you. Let's talk about Big Brothers, Big
Sisters, how you got involved, when you got involved,
and what this organization means to you. So I
love this. I had never worked at a nonprofit
before, so I was not very, very naive to what
I was kind of getting into. I'd always worked
at for -profits. And around COVID, just everything
was shifting. And do you remember, it was all
over the news. It was always like make a difference,
different people that were impacting. We were
like ringing bells for nurses. Like it just felt
very like I needed to be doing something. And
I had myself, my own mentors and individuals
that I really looked up to and someone that I
had worked with. or knew personally with Dai
Boyer. She was very much a mentor of mine, but
also one of my best friend's mom. And she and
I had a really powerful conversation one day
where she just looked at me and she was like,
I think you're trying to find a mission. And
I think you're a mission oriented person. And
I think you've kind of outgrown where you're
at because you're looking for something totally
different. And I think you really need to look
at nonprofits, but find something that really
represents you, because I didn't have a tie.
Philanthropy has learned and I didn't have a
huge philanthropic background. Long story short,
she reached out to me and there was a posting
for Big Brothers Big Sisters and all of my conversations
were really about all of these people that had
impacted me along the way and how I didn't really
realize they were mentoring me, but they were
people that really advised me and I looked up
to. So we had a conversation and then I met the
CEO at the time and we clicked just thick as
thieves instantly. And so that was 2021. So really
heavy in the COVID time. And I've been there
ever since. It has been the best decision I've
ever made. It's exactly where I need to be. And
exactly where I need to be at this time in my
life too. With kids, being a new mom. And really
having a lot of experience in my career at for
-profits, I think that's brought a really kind
of unique balance to my job at a nonprofit. You
don't see that a lot. And so I just, I love it.
I love our mission. I love, well, you all know
more than anything, you're two big sisters, but
it's just, it's a wonderful, wonderful passion.
Yeah. It's an incredible organization. Yeah.
And we, I mean, we should talk about maybe our
experiences a little bit. And I know we've all
had different experiences with it, but you go
first. Because you're the reason that I got into
Big Brothers, Big Sisters. It's such an honor
for me that you joined. That's like forcing people
to sign up. That's what we need from all of our
volunteers. Just drag them in. But like, isn't
Evi the best person? I had moved to Lexington
and wanted to get involved with something and
I saw what Evi was doing with her little unthought.
That just seems so rewarding and impactful for
both of them. So, okay, you go. Well, and so
you said, you know, it was one of the best decisions
you ever made working there. It was one of the
best decisions I ever made signing up. I had
actually thought about signing up in Montana,
but that was probably five years ago. ago, but
at the time you, well, I believe this is still
the policy. You want to be living in a place
for an extended period of time, right? You don't
want to sign up and move six months later. And
when I was living in Montana, I knew that I was
eventually going to be probably moving on. So
I didn't do it there. And when I got to Lexington,
I thought this is the perfect time to sign up
for an organization like Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
And so I was matched with a little, I guess that
was four years ago, probably 2021. Right? Okay.
COVID times. Because we were still masking and
doing all those things when I got matched. Allie
was my first little, they're big brothers, big
sisters of the blue grass. And she was seven,
I believe, when we matched. She was my flower
girl. We just hit it off immediately. Those pictures
are so sweet. Well, and not only was she so sweet
at my wedding. so adorable, so beautiful in her
flower girl dress, but at the time she was really
obsessed with Michael Jackson. And so after the
ceremony, she had on this beautiful dress, right?
She changed into a Michael Jackson costume. And
my mom had bought her like a glove, like the
sparkle glove that Michael wore. And she wore
this at the reception. And she was a highlight.
And it was actually funny because I think her
mom had said to me like do you are you okay with
her wearing and I said Absolutely. I would love
nothing more than for her to free entertainment.
Wear her Michael Jackson costume. And so she's
so funny. She moved she moved last year with
her mom, they moved to South Carolina. And but
we still keep in touch. She was just in town
a few weeks ago, she came to my house for trick
or treating. She I love her obsessions. And this
is the thing about kids, right? You know, you
mentioned your daughter loving Barney, she is
obsessed now with Alexander Hamilton, the American
politician. Yeah, so she was Alexander Hamilton
for Halloween. We watched Hamilton together earlier
this summer. She introduced me to all because
I'd never seen it. I'm like probably the last
person on earth to not have seen Hamilton. But
so we still keep in touch. Her family's wonderful.
And yeah, love Ali. And then she after she moved
last year, I took a little bit of a break because
I just thought maybe I can have a little bit
of a break figure out if I you know if this is
the the mission that I want to keep volunteering
but I can't stay away from Big Brothers Big Sisters
so signed back up and I have another little now
um another little sister Samaya who is just precious
she is nine years old about to be 10 I believe
if I'm wrong on the age I'm sorry Samaya um right
around it she's in the fifth grade and she is
just You know, I said it at the gala a month
ago. You kind of think oh no one like it won't
be a special having another little sister. My
first little was so amazing. They are equally
they're like just so special to me. So it's been
so fun hanging out with Samaya. She teaches me
like what's hip and with it in fifth grade and
she's the sweetest like all of these kids that
I interact with their big brothers big sisters
are incredible just incredible I took her to
one of the the first times we hung out we went
swimming and then I took her to Starbucks and
I forget what she got like a frappuccino or something
and she the she said the sweetest thing she said
thank you you didn't have to do this for me but
you did Yeah, they're, they're precious. Yeah.
Well, that's it. That's little moments are just
massive to a lot of the kids, to all of the kids
in that organization. And I can't think you both,
I can't wait to hear your stories here, but I
just hearing your all's excitement about it and
how much it means to you and how important it
is. It's so It's you can hear it from me all
day But for the individuals who are in it who
actually volunteered who really take the time
to develop these relationships it stays with
are with the kids for life. Well, and for, and
for the right. I know. And that's something that
I feel like we need to share those stories more
because our kids, we can get the impact all day.
We're evidence -based and more preventative.
So we have the data to actually show you, we
can quantify what a positive role model does
in a child's life. And we're the only evidence
-based mentoring program to do that. So it's,
I see that power all day, but It is always when
I talk to the bigs where they're just like, no,
my little has changed my life or my little means
everything to me. And this is what we do. And
I thought it was going to be this huge commitment,
but we went to Starbucks and it felt like it
changed her life. The highlight of her week.
Can you imagine having Abby as your big girl?
I can't imagine having either. I'm like, I want
to join. It does sometimes feel like having.
And I don't know if my littles would have said
this, but it's almost like having a little best
friend that you just get to hang out with because
I think, you know, the mentoring, the idea of
mentoring can be really intimidating, especially
for men. I hear that from men a lot, right? They
don't think they have what it takes to be a mentor.
But so much of it is just about hanging out,
being a positive presence, just Showing up and
being reliable. One thing I love about Big Brother's
Big Sisters is that everyone's experience is
a little different. I'm actually paired with
a teenager. Riley is 17. She is like the coolest
person. I tried to ask her thing. I'm like months
behind on all the trends. I'm like Riley. Everybody's
saying this six, seven thing. She's like, that's
so dumb. That's so lame. You're like so behind.
I didn't realize that we've moved on. Okay. Yeah.
But I met Riley when she was 15 right when she
was starting high school. And what a journey.
Just being a teenager, starting high school.
She just got a car. She's been, you know, she
goes to school dances and I don't know, like
being with someone who's going through that phase
is so grounding for me. And every time I drop
her off, I call my mom because I'm like, was
I, was I like that or did I say things like that
or do this? And, um, it's just been very eyeopening
for me. I don't know if you feel like this with
your littles, but it kind of just reminds you
what's important reminds you that. You know,
there are so much more to life that not everything
is about you, you know, and I don't know. I've
really loved my time. I've learned a lot from
Riley and it makes me so excited to see where
she's going to go because she's grown so much
just in the few years that I've known her from
kind of, you know, a freshman in high school
who wasn't sure what her goals were or, you know,
where she maybe fell into place, what her interests
were in now. She, you know, has a job and she
just got a car and she's thinking about college
and it's so exciting. How amazing to watch that
growth. Yeah. You kind of get to have a front
row seat to this young person as they're navigating
life. And I get so tickled. Like she'll text
me sometimes and be like, you know, this thing
happened at school or like my Halloween costume
is so cute. It's so fun. Yeah. And an honor too,
to get to play a role in someone's life. I think
like that. It is. And I love that you all have
two totally different ages. Totally. Yeah. The
high school age is that's always, I think it's
one of our hardest to match, which is why we
actually don't enroll a ton of teenagers. because
it's a harder age gap sometimes to match and
we don't want someone waiting on the wait list
who is already 15 turning six years. But they
do an incredible job. We have an incredible program
team who the minute that we have a child or family
or school that calls and says, hey, we have a
15 -year -old and who needs, you know, this is
what they're going through and we really think
this would make all the difference in their life.
We have an enrollment specialist and a program
team and case managers who work so closely to
know every volunteer, every inquiry. And they
go through these deep levels of interviews to
make sure that our matching is so intentional.
And we do our absolute best to be like, okay,
priority. Let's see how we can make this happen.
And because there is, there's a special someone
out there for everybody. And I think, were you
all surprised when you all got matched? Was there
any surprises about how quickly your relationship
formed? Or did it take a little while? What was
your all's kind of initial...? That's a good
question. I didn't know that teenagers could
be littles. So because I was kind of facing what
I thought my experience would be on Evy's, I
thought, Oh, I'll probably be matched with a
little kid. And so when they called him, they
said, well, she's a teenager. I was like, Whoa,
okay. Bring it on. But I grew up with brothers.
So I think part of me always wanted to have um,
a little sister and maybe her being a little
older has felt more realistic. Yeah, a little
closer to my age. I love that. So yeah, that
was maybe the surprise for me. I'm just always
amazed at, you know, you mentioned the team,
how well they do matching people, because every
time they've called, I mean, it's only been twice.
Now they say, we really think we have a child
that will be a great match for you. And, you
know, sometimes you feel like, Oh, maybe they
say that. every time just it's what they say
sure sure sure but there it's true you know you
after you meet your little and maybe hang out
a few times it's like oh we have a lot in common
you know a lot to talk about um you know and
i've also loved um getting to know my little's
families i don't know if every i don't know if
that's always the case where maybe families aren't
always as involved but i've been blessed to have
two littles with families who are very involved
in the program and so Kind and easy to work with
and just good good people. So I've loved that
as well It makes you feel really connected to
your community, which I love. Oh that's spot
-on No, I really we really do we realize the
importance of the relationship So we know that
we really I mean ultimately we view it like we
have one opportunity to get this match, right?
And we take the seriousness and safety of the
child and the volunteer so seriously. So that's
why it is, it's a process. It is. I mean, background
checks, interviews, references. I mean, we really
go above and beyond. I know that we do to make
sure that we are so intentional about these matching.
Our match length is actually double the national
average. And I think it is that then the close
to like four years. Wow. And so I don't know,
it's done in months. But it's around four years.
But it's just it's really phenomenal because
yet you hear the care and what they talk about.
And so we do we as family assessments, all of
that. So it's all meant to happen for a reason.
But yeah, they really look obviously the safety
of the child is first and foremost, but it's
same with the volunteer like we want for the
big to feel so confident, so secure. I think
it's really powerful that everybody has a case
manager or social worker. That's another piece
of the program that I think doesn't get as much
of a spotlight as it should. The value of having
social workers and case managers overseeing those
relationships. One is, you know, a backup for
support, but also because, yeah, a lot of our
kids have gone through a lot of really traumatic
experiences and we don't expect volunteers to
come equipped to know how to handle XYZ. So we
really want, you know, this relationship to stay
fun and positive and consistent. And we want
to make it easy and we want to make it so that
a kid gets to just be a kid. And then the case
manager can really help fill those gaps and support
that relationship. And it's all I mean, it is
all free. You know, we do not charge for any
of our services for any of our trainings for
so it's a it's a really powerful. Piece of our
program that I think kind of gets understated
for the magnitude of support its surprise or
Supports for kids and families. Definitely. Let's
talk about who can be bigs and what the commitment
looks like if someone is watching you're listening
and thinking, you know, okay So bigs are anyone
over the age of 18 There's a lot of nuances with
that because we do federal background checks,
state background checks. We do license. You need
referrals. You've got to go through that whole
intake process. But over the age of 18, and then
we do tend to have more young boys on our wait
list. So we're always looking for young men who
are interested in just being a cool big brother.
It's really powerful. It's one hour once a week.
We do realize that, you know, everybody has a
life so it's we understand there's a lot of flexibility
to that but one hour once a week I was talking
to Yet last night we spoke at a panel for UK
student athletics were the official partner of
UK You know student athletes and the panel was
of former and current student athletes who are
bigs and One of the things we talked about was
the one hour a week commitment and I was like
guys I don't want to shame anybody, especially
myself, but if we pull out our phone and we look
at our screen time, like our scrolling chart,
I was like, we've got an hour. We've got one
hour once a week. And of course, and we also
try to, you know, we're trying to get even. you
know, more involved by giving them activities
to do, providing them, you know, coupons and
places to go, really kind of help guide the process.
So and then to enroll children, we enroll, right
now we're enrolling about age six to age 14,
but you can be in our program from age six to
age 18. But we always say once you're in our
program, you're in it for life. So you might
be 18 and going off to college, but you're always
going to be a little and you always have the
support of our program coming back to that. That's
so amazing. What are some of the things that
you like to do with your little since you've
had younger littles, what are the activities
y 'all do? We do all sorts of things. One thing
we went to recently was what is the the apple
orchard and pumpkin farm in Scott County? That
is one we went to a different one We went to
Evans recently just for the afternoon and there
was like no one there It was a beautiful day
and we played on all the equipment and we got
we took pictures We did a little photo shoot
with all the different photo opportunities. They
have there we had so much fun But you know, we've
gone to the movies the library Chick -fil -a
and it's not a week goes by that I don't get
a text from Big Brothers Big Sisters saying hey
we have yeah these tickets for this event tonight
or you know we're all here's an activity or going
bowling or here's a free it's all yeah free it's
already organized and set up what do you all
do Well, Riley is a teenager. So we like to go
to the mall. Love. I know you love them all.
She's very into makeup. So we'll go to Sephora,
Starbucks, we'll grab dinner because my schedule
is I get off work, you know, a little later in
the evening. Usually I pick her up in the evenings
and we'll go grab dinner, which just goes to
show that you can make it work for your schedule.
It's not like You have to have a job where you
are off at 5 p .m. And then you're committing
the whole evening to your little you can make
it work with what you're doing. And going back
to how the pairs make sense, you know, Riley
is a teenager, so it's not an issue for her if
we're not hanging out until I get off at 730
p .m. You know, she's staying up late. But yeah,
that's kind of what we do. It's really kind of,
you know, the activities. It's kind of whatever
you can think of that sounds fun to both you
and your little, you know, I mean, within reason,
right. And obviously keeping safety in mind,
but it's, I'm always texting Samaya's mom saying,
does this sound fun? And she has ideas too, that
she wants to do. So she just wants to see you,
whatever, whatever you two do together. It's
really, that's what it is. It's that consistency.
But that's what one of the tip piggyback on that.
That's what one of the student athletes on our
panel, she plays soccer for University of Kentucky.
So she'll have games or some commitments and
team commitments. And she'll be like, Oh, I've
got to go to the men's game. She'll just pick
up her little and we'll go to the men's soccer
game. And then like her teammates have gotten
to know like she's like a little sister to them.
It's just it. That's what she said. She was like,
I just kind of fold her into my life and she
loves what I do. And I love being around her.
And they have just this really cute dynamic.
So it's, it's not to over overthink it. But I
think You had said something earlier about like
mentoring, the word mentoring, I think can be
really intimidating. It feels like you have to
like impart some seriousness, you know? And I'm
like, I think if someone was like, you have to
mentor this, I would be like, we're all part
of this organization. And so instead, that's
why I like that it's called Big Brother Big Sister,
you know, it is, we really just emphasize, you
know, just. consistency. Have fun. You know,
we make friendship bracelets. We just go to the
park, walk around the park, check on their day,
like, let them have a little outlet to just have
someone to talk to or kind of to listen to them.
Oh, yeah. That's a that's so that's so important.
Everyone needs that. Definitely. Is there a moment
that you've had or a story you've heard that
really resonated with you about maybe how mentorship
changed a little's life? We have, we have so
many. I, everyone at work laughs. I cry like
every Wednesday at huddle because they'll like
tell a story of just like, it's not even like
a success story, if you will. It's just like,
Oh, this is really fun. They identified this
and they got over this fear. And I'm like, So
beautiful, but we have so many stories. Last
night I was talking to a big, and he's been with
his little for a couple of years now, but the
first year that they were together, it really
got identified that he had kind of made it through
school a little bit without knowing how to read.
And he started slowly picking that up and realizing
like, like we, I'm going to, I'm going to work
on this with him. And without, Making it so obvious
that he started doing things like we'd go to
like McDonald's and I'd be like no like order
off the menu and what are these words say and
he would point out street signs and read them
to him and He just slowly and now he's just thriving
in school He realizes like some of his maybe
behavioral or confidence issues came from the
fact that he was kind of hiding that he didn't,
I mean, he didn't know how to read. And so I
think it's just feeling overlooked or not being
seen. And someone who you admire looks at you
and is like, No, you're great. I'm going to help
you with this. I mean, I'm at my age, if someone
that's what I'm still looking for. I'm always
looking to talk to people to say, Hey, can you
show me this or I need help with this or It's
very very powerful and we have so many incidents
or we have so many matches where that is their
story where it's just I discovered something
about my little that he It wasn't a behavioral
thing. It was a fear thing or it was they were
not being seen or they had some issues and now
all of a sudden They're loving school, which
means They're not as truant at school or they're
teachers. They're having better interactions
with their teachers. They're not getting into
as many fights. We realized like that is such
a pattern of behavior with kids. A lot of kids
that are deemed, you know, that they're getting
in fights at school or being trouble makers.
Something else is going on. It is. I mean, it's
there's so many people who just were busy and
all of those things. But man, breaking that down
and then building up a whole new confidence,
that's I mean, that's transformative. Yeah. And
think about the trajectory then if you're not
afraid to go to school, or if you're not embarrassed
to raise your hand, or then also they have the
confidence to look at another kid who might be
we've had that all the time where we had a a
young boy, the last match appreciation, he was
like, I stick up now for my friends who are like
the way he said it. I was like, Oh, that's so
sweet. Like he just feels very protective of
the people around him now because he has a big
brother who looks out for him. And I just thought,
gosh, it's just, it's the ripple. Oh, it's a
community issue. I mean, it's a community social
health. I'm learning a lot right now over the
past year. Even though I've been a Big Brothers,
Big Sisters for four years, I did fundraising
for a lot of it. And I'm deep into the program
now for the past year. And the impact of social
health and where that starts. I mean, it starts
at home. It starts with kids. And really what
we're doing is, I mean, transforming these relationships.
And when you have children who have experienced
a lot of traumatic things, and not only are you
acknowledging that you're trying to break down
that, break down those barriers, but then replace
them with positive memories, with positive and
hopeful outcomes to really ignite that potential.
That's what we say all the time at Big Brothers,
Big Sisters, because it's true. And, you know,
when you hear we've had 100 % of our kids graduate
high school, the past couple years, when you
hear that our kids have been out of the juvenile
justice system, it's because that's truly from
the relationship with the big and the little.
I mean, it's so powerful. Has having kids of
your own changed how you see the need for mentorship?
A thousand percent. We are not meant to do this
alone. Well, it goes back to the village thing
you were talking about, right? Absolutely. We
are not meant to do this alone. So yes, there
are, you know, we have children who have incarcerated
parents or parents that were affected by the
opioid crisis or being raised by grandparents.
We have all of those circumstances. We have a
lot of circumstances where individuals, mothers,
fathers, grandparents are doing everything they
can, but you just need more people. You need
a village. You might, and so it's really just.
adding that and being able to work alongside
with these families, I think is just such a powerful
thing for kids to see adults getting along and
adult interaction and kids getting to be kids.
And now that I've had, yes, I'm like, Oh my goodness,
I can't imagine one doing this without a partner
or and then without individuals. But yeah, you
we have to have community support. We need human
to human interaction. We need that. That's, that's
what we're, you know, meant to do. So I think
it's just a phenomenal program. Yeah. I love
it. If you had a call to, I mean, we've been
talking about it the whole time, but kind of
what more do we need? A call to action. I mean,
we are all so passionate about this, but what
would you say to really get people on board?
Well, right now, our biggest need is funding.
I mean, that really is where we're at. The community
need for our program has never been higher. We
are getting calls from schools, from behavioral
health clinics, from families, from courts saying
this is what our kids need. So we know that what
we're doing works. The financial support, it
is a necessity in order to support these matches
and do what we need to do to train and enroll.
We've lost a little, you know, federal funding's
been hard and so we are really calling on our
community and our community partners because
what we're doing affects the health of our community.
We're in over half of the schools in Fayette
County alone and so there isn't a zip code that
we don't touch. So right now we're really trying
to find, you know, businesses that are interested
in partnering with us that are mission oriented
into your funding. There's a lot of individuals
for tax purposes that are looking to donate,
you know, their donor advice funds, or they want
to work with their wealth management to kind
of donate a nonprofit. We welcome that at any
time, but at the end of the year, I know it's
a big one. And we're also doing, we just found
out we were selected for Buffalo Trace did 100
bourbons for 100 charities. And so we received
six high -end exclusive bottles of Weller. So
we bundled them together and we're selling the
tickets for $100 a ticket, but we're only doing
250 tickets. Very minimum quantity so you have
a really high chance of winning. and we are going
to draw that on December 18th. So that's a good
one too for individuals who are, you know, it's
around the holidays. That's a fun, you know,
fun holiday gift, but it's a great way because
a hundred percent of that raffle goes back to
our organization. So we got that at zero cost.
So we really want to push that and hope that,
you know, it's a hundred dollars. So we are so
grateful for anyone that purchases the ticket.
Okay. It is just a good time of year too. I think
as people are kind of. Um, maybe evaluating goals
for next year and thinking of what they're grateful
for and the community around them. So a good
time to be thinking maybe how to incorporate
something like big brothers, big sisters into
your life. Oh, we absolutely. Yes. 2026 get to
know us, call us, follow us on social media,
all the things we, um, we are here and we are
needed and we want to be around a lot longer.
So we definitely need some help while I'm speaking
of, you know, the holidays. This episode will
come out just before Thanksgiving. So we have
just a few days. So we have to ask you, what
are you thankful for this year? What comes to
top the top of your mind? My family, my health,
my life, just, I mean, the the true things that
we take for granted or not we that I can take
for granted just daily. I I really have to scale
back every morning and just, yeah, I've got a
roof over my head. I can drive to work in the
snow. We are healthy. I am very grateful for
all of that. Yeah. Yeah. Me too. You spend a
few minutes watching the news and you realize
how good you have it. You do. Like the older
I get, the more of that question makes me kind
of emo, right? That's how I feel. Because I just
like, yeah, I used to think of so much other
stuff. And I'm like, Oh, my gosh, like, could
you just get caught up in your daily grind? Why
don't I have this or I need more of this or I
need a bigger thing? Like, and you do you take
a breath and you're like, Wow, we're I'm okay.
It's all going to be fine. Yes. Yes. Well, Meredith,
thank you so much for coming on the pod. As anticipated,
we did yap. How long have we gone? I just lanced
at the clock and I was like, oh, okay. It's that
time. I think we have a meeting we have to get
to for Big Brothers, Big Sisters. We do. They'll
have to wait for us. We have things to do, people
to see. Yes, but this has been so fun. This has
been amazing. Thank you all so much. I have loved
getting to know you two through Big Brothers.
and you two are not only amazing big sisters
but just everything that you do to support our
organization it means the world to us, but I
have loved getting to know you too. And the support
you have shown me, I just, I can't thank you
enough. And so I was delighted to be here. I
will come yap any time. Yes, we need you. And
we didn't tell her to say all of that, by the
way, we didn't. No, they don't. I just, I try
to tell them every day where I'm like, thank
you all so much. You were amazing. Cause I deeply
mean it. Well, we feel the same about you and
thanks for including us always in big brothers,
big sisters events. It's always, always a joy.
And for those listening or watching, Hot Mike,
I never remember which camera to look at for
this part. I think I looked at the wrong one
earlier. This one. Thank you, Robert. Look into
Big Brothers, Big Sisters. We hope this inspired
you to maybe give or just learn more about the
program. It's had such a positive impact on all
three of us. Meredith, thank you so much for
joining. We'll have you back on the pod. Not
worried about that at all. Thank you for listening
and watching this week's episode of Hot Mike.