Anyone who’s ever had a mentor can tell you about the importance of having one. Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters is a local offshoot of a national organization that finds adults to mentor young people ages six to 24. “A mentorship is really key to success, and not just within young people. I think everybody can think of that mentor in their life, or if they’re an adult, and it’s a career mentor of someone that they look up to, someone that can really point them and provide them in their right the right direction and help them develop themselves as adults and being productive in society,” says Kristen Kerns, executive director of Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters. “It’s just being that positive role model and showing them what their future holds if they go in the right direction.”
The Prescott-based nonprofit serves about 150 to 200 kids per year. Matches can help their littles with homework, but for the most part, the pairs try to focus on doing fun things. For instance, the nonprofit hosted a Halloween open house in October. Kristen tells us that the local chapter, which does serve students in Sedona, has one of the highest average matches in terms of length. The average length is typically around two years. The Yavapai chapter’s average length of match is four-and-a-half to five years.
Sometimes littles will even invite their bigs to major milestones like graduations or weddings. “We’re changing lives. We’re doing amazing things,” says Kristen. “2025 is going to be a game-changing year for our organization – new, exciting programs, opportunities, fundraisers – and we are making lifelong friends and lifelong connections that are spanning generations and are making a positive impact in the world.” Through her nonprofit work, she aims to help young people be more accepting of themselves. “I know a lot of the challenges that I went through. From bullying and being shy and dealing with mental health challenges as a child, and I want to be able to provide that guidance to the youth in Yavapai County, and let them know that they’re not alone,” she says. “There are people that care about them and support them, and they’re free to be themselves.” – Teresa K. Traverse
