Chazz & Malik
Life certainly is different for Little Brother Malik now that he has a Big Brother, Chazz Davis, in his life. Before he had a Big, Malik spent lots of time alone. “I didn’t do much with other people before. If I did stuff, I was usually on my own. I wanted to have more fun and have someone to enjoy time with. Now I have another person to look up to. It makes stuff easier because I have someone who can take me places, do fun things with, and enjoy life with.”
Both Chazz and Malik keep pretty hectic schedules these days, but they definitely make time for their regular get-togethers. A couple of sports enthusiasts , their activities include video games (Chazz claims to win the majority), basketball, and heading to the park. They even tried rollerskating once. Their most recent favorite activity was the Springfield Armor game, courtesy of Mass Mentoring Partnership. They participated in the free throw contest during half time and won a pair of tickets to a Red Sox game! Of course, most of the credit goes to Malik since he’s the one who actually sunk the winning shots. From the old days of spending time alone to now hanging out with Chazz and winning tickets to a Red Sox game, life certainly has livened up for this Little Brother!
And as much fun as Malik and Chazz have had together, having a Big has done some other things for Malik as well. It was two years ago that Malik’s guardian Iris came up with the idea of getting him a Big Brother. She was concerned that maybe there was something missing from his life. “I heard lots of positive feedback about Big Brothers Big Sisters. He didn’t have any male role models, so I thought it would be a good program for him. I asked Malik if he wanted to be involved and he said yes.” Aside from having more fun, Iris explains that having a Big has made other improvements in Malik’s life. “It’s really helped with his attitude. He used to be a little moodier and talked back, but that’s really improved. It’s helped to take some of the pressure off of me, and it’s great that he has a male figure in his life now.”
But Malik certainly isn’t the only one benefiting from this friendship. “I feel a sense of joy in helping and in volunteering. It’s a sense of excitement I feel when I see a smile on the face of someone I helped. You take something you love to do and go with it. I didn’t really have a father figure in my life. I felt the need to help someone else who didn’t have a male role model. I wanted to help a child make better decisions and think about things before they act.” Being a Big gives Chazz the chance to be a kid again. By volunteering, he’s doing all the things he loves, having fun, and giving a kid a role model.
In the fall, Malik’s headed off to Central High School. That gives him a few more years to decide what his future holds. At the moment, Malik’s focus is most definitely on his athletics, but he admits that he’ll have to think of something as a back-up plan in case that doesn’t work out. Luckily, he’ll have his Big Brother to help him feel out the path that lies ahead.