When Big Buddy mentoring manager Matt Anderson-Smith searched the charity’s Waikato volunteers to find the perfect match for teen Kei Ellis-Rose, he struck gold. Kaleb Whyte, a crown prosecutor in Hamilton, enjoyed the gym like South African-born Kei, along with food, fitness and running. They also had similar holistic approaches to life, since Kaleb […]
Big Buddy Waikato: Meet Big Buddy Kaleb Whyte Read More »
“Everyone has 24 hours in a day – how they use that time is completely up to them.” Simple words from an impressive young man – Tahana Tippett, an inspiring Big Buddy within our village. Tahana, who is not yet 30, is a successful and generous young man. He holds an Honours degree in
Making time to make a difference Read More »
Staying connected is a topic on everyone’s minds right now. In the Big Buddy village, we’re giving a lot of thought to how Big and Little Buddies continue to make meaningful connections with each other over the next few weeks. Luckily, our Big Buddies already have a wealth of ideas on how to maintain the
Still showing up, spending time and coming back…from a distance! Read More »
Times are tough and New Zealand needs your help. You and your Big Buddy are the only available crime-fighting pair available. So it’s time to suit up as one of the world’s most formidable duos! But hang on a minute…you and your Big Buddy don’t have anything to wear! In fact, if your Big Buddy
New Zealand needs superheroes fast! Read More »
FROM THE 2015 ARCHIVES We all remember doing speeches in school, and we all know the best kinds of speeches are the ones about the things we like the most. So, LB Jaden chose to do his speech on his BB, Graeme, and the Big Buddy programme. These are his words: “Hi, today I’m talking
Big Buddy; straight from the horse’s mouth Read More »
I always look forward to my visits & outings with Phil. He is more like the big brother I’ve never had and I feel so relaxed with him – we go with the flow about what we do nearly every week. Lately we’ve been doing driving lessons at the Air Force base out north-west Auckland. We
ON THE WEEKEND: DJ, 17, and Big Buddy Phil Read More »
On July 17 Big Buddy was privileged to have a young man represent us on TV3’s The AM Show with our CEO Paul Burns. Little Buddy Jeremiah from Papakura agreed to be waiting at his front door for Paul to pick him up at 6am sharp, and get him into the Eden Terrace studio for
Little Buddy Jeremiah steals the (AM) Show Read More »
In 2013, a poem was sent in by a Big Buddy called Roger, and it still speaks right to the heart of being fatherless today. The writer R.E. Hinchco who penned these verses knew the plight of boys whose fathers are not around. Quite simply, Big Buddy exists to provide ‘Jim’ with some of the
A heart wrenching poem for absent fathers Read More »
There’s nothing like teaching young men to reach for the pinnacles – literally! Auckland BB extraordinaire Jim Eyre decided to take his not one – but two – LBs on an intrepid hike up to the Pinnacles in the Kaueranga Valley, Thames, a couple of weeks back. His mate Ken Costello tagged along with Nehemiah
Young men reach for the pinnacles! Read More »
There’s nothing like a solid match to show new Little Buddies how it can be done. When Wellington coordinator Dave Burcher recently interviewed seven-year-old twins whose dad had died, one of them asked how he would know Big Buddies were safe. Dave explained the screening process in a way a seven-year-old could understand but still
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