The Big Impact: A Brotherhood of Strength With Former Littles Darcy & Tie
How Group Mentoring Builds Confidence and Connection
When Darcy and Tie lost their father in 2014, they were just nine years old. The loss left a profound void, but also opened the door to something unexpected. They gained a sense of connection, community, and healing through Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Simcoe.
“Loss can be a lonely experience,” writes Darcy. “Though surrounded by millions of others who experience such trials every day, it is not too uncommon to feel as though a personal world is falling apart. I would say this is how I felt in 2014, when my father passed away.”
That same year, both boys were introduced to BBBSNS. Through group outings, snowboarding, parades, bowling, and eventually a match with a Big Brother named Terry, they began to feel supported in new ways.
“I was given the gift of friendship, memories, and a person who would allow me to experience things I could not do with my father,” Darcy shares. “It may be a small gesture, but even the most minuscule things can amount to greatness, especially when these memories take a fatherly air where it is otherwise missing.”
For Tie, those memories included new experiences, operating construction equipment, sledding, and learning life lessons along the way. “My brother and I lost our dad young, and it felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled for us. We needed that ‘dad’ time we never really got,” he writes. “I will be forever grateful for BBBSNS for giving us this opportunity.”
Darcy adds, “All of these things and more is why Big Brothers Big Sisters is a most incredible foundation. I would not be the same as I am today without such generosity and love of the community.”
Learn more about how to become a LITTLE with Big Brothers Big Sisters.
