December 5, 2016
Seth Sawyer is a busy young man. He works two part-time jobs and is in nursing school, but he still found time for a little brother.
Seth signed up for Big Brothers Big Sisters after a co-worker passed around a flyer at work. Coincidentally, Seth was paired with the grandson of that same co-worker. The two started getting together a couple of months ago and have spent their time playing basketball, seeing a movie, playing arcade games and eating out.
“He seems like a really nice, well-mannered kid,” Seth says of his little brother, 10-year-old Aiden Johnson. “He’s more outgoing than I guessed he would be. He’s very outgoing and just a lot of fun.”
Brenda Johnson, Aiden’s grandmother and Seth’s co-worker, says the two turned out to be a great match.
“They’ve hit it off,” she says. “Aiden loves him. He says Seth is cool.”
Brenda signed up her grandson for the program because he doesn’t see his dad and she knew he needed a positive male role model in his life. When he sees a boy out with his dad or an older brother, Aiden always says, “He sure is lucky.”
The 5th grader at Boaz Intermediate School was born with a cleft palate and has gone through many surgeries. His grandmother helped raise him and he lives with her now.
After she entered Aiden into the Big Brother program, Brenda, an emergency department nurse at Marshall South where she has worked for 21 years, started distributing materials about it around the hospital hoping her co-workers would join. She didn’t know Seth signed up until she got a call from the organization saying Aiden had been matched up with Seth.
The program coordinator for Marshall County, Alisha Collier, says it has worked out great.
“Seth is an awesome Big Brother to his Little Brother Aiden,” she says.
The program provides responsible, caring adult mentors to children who have only one parent in the household or whose parents work full-time and the child needs stability.
The process to become a Big Brother or Big Sister includes an in-person interview, an application, a valid driver’s license, proof of insurance, a home assessment and a background check. Volunteers must be at least 19 years old. A minimum of four hours per month is required with a one-year commitment.
Seth tries to spend more time with Aiden than the required amount. With two busy schedules they manage to spend 3-4 hours together every two weeks or three times a month. He sees it as a way to give back after he was fortunate enough to be raised in a family with a lot of good people in his life.
“It’s knowing that you can give somebody something that you had and have an opportunity to do a good thing, make a difference in somebody’s life, hopefully for the better,” he says.
Seth, 21, a graduate of Guntersville High School, just entered the nursing program at Snead. He plans to graduate in 2018. He works as a tech in the emergency room at South, where he met Brenda.
Seth has watched Aiden grow a bit more confident during their time together. He talks to his big brother about girls and his friends. Seth encourages others to get involved with the program to be a friend to a youngster.
“If you really want to do it, you can,” he says. “It needs to be something you feel in your heart and not a burden.”
Children must be ages 5-13 to participate. Parents who believe their child would be a good candidate for the program may call the office at (256)660-5556 weekdays. There is no charge. Adults who would like to volunteer may call the office or visit it at 101 North Carlisle Street in Albertville.