CENTRAL VALLEY, Calif. (KFSN) — Changing lives one mentor at a time, that’s the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California.<\/p>\n
“The passion that we have is for our children. That is why we are calling everyone in the central valley to please see our children, they are the future leaders and best investment we could ever do and have,” mentions Diane Phakonekham, President & CEO for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California.<\/p>\n
The non-profit offers a holistic approach to positive pathways, creating a ripple effect through communities.<\/p>\n
There is a need statewide.<\/p>\n
Thousands of children, mostly boys, are waiting to be paired with someone they can look up to.<\/p>\n
“It breaks my heart. I have hundreds of children on the waitlist, patiently waiting, waiting for someone to pick them up, be there for them, be their friend to just love them and care, so it hurts me,” expresses Phakonekham.<\/p>\n
Recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom launched the California Men’s Service Challenge<\/a>.<\/p>\n Calling on 10,000 men to step forward as mentors, coaches and community leaders.<\/p>\n $5 million was committed to help guide the path of young children.<\/p>\n “Open our hearts, minds and doors, that we fill our gaps with our male mentors and it’s needed now more than ever,” says one Tulare County Board of Supervisor, Eddie Valero.<\/p>\n The impact of mentorship has been felt in the lives of thousands of valley residents..<\/p>\n One Fresno Police Officer, Sgt.Erik Ia, has served as a Big Brother to Michael Johnson for six years.<\/p>\n “It’s an honor, a privilege to be able to go into someone’s life and mentor them and give back to the community,” mentions Sgt. Ia.<\/p>\n Michael expresses, “I feel like if Erik wasn’t here for me, I would’ve probably been with the wrong group of friends and went down the wrong path, a path I wouldn’t want to take.”<\/p>\n Now, Big Brother Big Sister of Central California is leaning on its community to help make a change.<\/p>\n There are currently 140 little brothers and little sisters in Central California waiting to be paired.<\/p>\n The commitment from a big brother or big sister is around 2 hours a month.<\/p>\n The non-profit encourages anyone interested to volunteer to reach out to their various Central Valley locations.<\/p>\n More information can be found on their website, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For South Valley news updates, follow Kassandra Gutierrez on Facebook<\/a>, X<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2025 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n