For over 60 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami has provided children with free mentorship. CEO and president Gale Nelson has played a crucial part in that story.
“Many of the programs that we currently have grown; I was there to help start most of them,” said Nelson.
He has been with the organization since 2006, when he was hired as VP of Programs, but it’s not his first time professionally guiding children.
He began his career at Bay Point Schools, a Miami School for boys that were a part of the juvenile delinquency program as a teacher and coach.
“Mentoring was a key aspect,” Nelson recalled. The students, who, because they “would come to me from jail, would be mentored by older students who had grown.”
“I wanted to get the kids before they went to jail,” said Nelson, who says he finds the Midwestern values he grew up with -like friendliness and a willingness to help-to be highly effective when working with minors.
He was initially hired to design, strengthen and create programs to help the children of Miami-Dade County. One of his signature programs is School to Work, which provides mentoring for high school students in the workplace. The initiative’s creation was the result of the long waiting list for mentorship, leaving the children, mostly in high school, bidding a significant amount of time before being paired. At the time, people were not expressing interest in mentoring teenagers. But School to Work makes things easier by allowing companies and organizations to volunteer as a group to recruit mentors from their pool of staff and host a group of high school students on a regular basis throughout the school year.
“The School to Work program allowed us to do two things-Serve high school students and help address the number one reason people would give us as to why they would not mentor- ‘I just don’t have the time,” Nelson said. “After bringing students in during the school day, we saw our numbers skyrocket.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters refers to children being mentored as “Littles” and the adults that provide act as mentors as “Bigs”.
One Little-Big duo that met through the School to Work program is 17-year-old Amirra Cobb and 63-year-old Mishka Lahiff, a Lieutenant at the Support Operations Bureau.
“We have really close talks,” said Cobb, who plans to attend Pennsylvania State University where she will major in Forensic Science. She says her Big Sister has influenced and reinforced her passion for forensic science and criminal justice while instilling in her the importance of giving back. “She gives me life lessons. And it’s not like someone would come to my school and gives an inspirational speech. It’s actually things she’s done in her life and how I can relate to her.”
Cobb and Lahiff have known each other for over a year and have done activities such as field days, ship tours and celebrations at Christmas time together. During her interview with South Florida Times, Lahiff explained that she originally wanted to become a foster parent but was afraid of bringing anything negative or harmful to her own children. Becoming a Big was the next best thing.
“I’m extremely grateful that I got paired with Amirra, because sometimes she helps me more than I think I help her,” said Lahiff. “There are sometimes where I feel down and go and see her and she’s so happy-go-lucky that it makes me forget.”
In 2008, the Bigs and Blue program was formalized. The initiative was created to encourage first responders to become Bigs and to build fellowship in the community. And although Nelson expressed his respect for uniformed personnels, he acknowledged that law enforcement does not always have a good rapport with young minorities.
“There are real issues that must be addressed and what better way to address it than seeking to build mutual trust and respect,” said Nelson who shared that he himself was victimized by police officers when he was a college student. However, he’s chosen to put the energy from that traumatic experience towards Bigs and Blue.
Former CEO and president of Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami, Lydia Muniz said that her first impression of Nelson “was that he was polished, intelligent, articulate, and passionately committed to community service and making an impact.”
That impression turned out to be spot on- Along with the board, staff, donors, and community partner, “they have further enhanced and strengthened the organization, transforming the lives of many young people by believing in them, mentoring them, and helping them realize their potential.”
Like any nonprofit, Big Brothers Big Sisters faces challenges, like ensuring long-term sustainability, expanding the donor base, collaborating with like-minded organizations and reaching the neediest local kids.
Upcoming functions for Big Brothers Big Sisters include the Dream Big Gala in May, a prestigious affair featuring fine dining and live entertainment and in October, Jazz at Joe’s which is an iconic dinner bringing together Miami’s top philanthropists and corporate partnering to launch the event season.
“Our significant impact on the community is fueled by the greatness of our families, volunteers, donors and staff,” said Nelson.
