A Perfect Match

Back in 2020 I was approached by Tania Gray and asked if I wanted to volunteer as a Big. Tania is the Director of Community Engagement and Outreach for JBBBS, but also is the mother of a classmate of mine from high school. My initial reaction to this opportunity was hesitation. I had a lot going on at work and I wasn’t sure I was willing to give up, what felt then as, precious 24-year-old weekend time. I took a while to think about what I wanted to do, and in this process thought about what it meant to say yes to this opportunity. I thought back to when I was a kid and the impact that a young man named Jake, who used to drive me to school when my parents were busy, had on me just by being someone who listened and talked to me like an adult. It is not that Jake was doing anything particularly profound, but that these ordinary acts and short moments together had such a large effect. I thought about how it would feel to be in the driver’s seat and affect a child’s day as he did mine simply by showing up and becoming a friendly presence. Suddenly, this opportunity didn’t seem so daunting.

Flash forward to today, I have been a big for the last two years to a now 9-year-old boy named Emmett and have seen the impact that JBBBS can have firsthand. Through our 2 years together I have had an opportunity to develop a close relationship with both Emmett and his family. We have done all sorts of fun things, such as playing sports, going to get ice cream, and going to Boston sports games. Our match started during the throws of Covid-19, and the pandemic had clearly had an impact on Emmett’s willingness to try new things, the lack of social opportunities had also made it hard for him to understand the realities of winning and losing. We have been able to work through some of these issues together, not in a parenting sense, but just by doing things together where he has had a role model with him.

T1D is a disease where the treatment plan requires constant input from the patient. You basically must act as an organ, but rather than hormones signaling how much insulin to release, you must base it on estimations of the nutritional breakdown of food, and the impact your day-to-day activities will have. As a child growing up with diabetes, I went from my parents completely controlling my insulin regimen, to a supervised independence in late middle school and early high school, then off to college and into life fully on my own. Imagine the mixture of a teenager who thinks they know everything, now having to control a lethal medicine 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I was lucky enough to have a tremendous support system in my parents and school nurses, but even with this I still went through times of my life where I put myself in dangerous situations or felt alone. For everything my parents were able to do for me, I know that a peer would have had an even stronger effect.

Big Brunch Honoree Dean Cohen

By Julia Rodda • October 16, 2025

JBBBS is thrilled to honor four incredible JBBBS volunteers with the Chaverut Award at this year’s Big Brunch on October 26. These four volunteers truly exemplify the word chaverut which is Hebrew for friendship. Dean Cohen is one of this year’s honorees and we had the pleasure to recently ask him a few questions about… The post Big Brunch Honoree Dean Cohen appeared first on Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Boston.

Big Brunch Honoree William Gittler

By Julia Rodda • October 16, 2025

JBBBS is thrilled to honor four incredible JBBBS volunteers with the Chaverut Award at this year’s Big Brunch on October 26. These four volunteers truly exemplify the word chaverut which is Hebrew for friendship. William Gittler is one of this year’s honorees and we had the pleasure to recently ask him a few questions about… The post Big Brunch Honoree William Gittler appeared first on Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Boston.

Big Brunch Honoree Yasmine Chahine

By Julia Rodda • October 16, 2025

JBBBS is thrilled to honor four incredible JBBBS volunteers with the Chaverut Award at this year’s Big Brunch on October 26. These four volunteers truly exemplify the word chaverut which is Hebrew for friendship. Yasmine Chahine is one of this year’s honorees and we had the pleasure to recently ask her a few questions about… The post Big Brunch Honoree Yasmine Chahine appeared first on Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Boston.

Big Brunch Honoree Stacey Buckley

By Julia Rodda • October 9, 2025

JBBBS is thrilled to honor four incredible JBBBS volunteers with the Chaverut Award at this year’s Big Brunch on October 26. These four volunteers truly exemplify the word chaverut which is Hebrew for friendship. Stacey Buckley is one of this year’s honorees and we had the pleasure to recently ask her a few questions about… The post Big Brunch Honoree Stacey Buckley appeared first on Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Boston.

Welcoming JBBBS’ New Board Chair, Evan Grossman

By Julia Rodda • September 29, 2025

What first inspired you to get involved with JBBBS? I’ve always admired the mission of mentorship and the stability and companionship it provides. JBBBS embodies that so perfectly. I had heard wonderful things about the agency, and a serendipitous professional interaction with the amazing Judy Shankman solidified my decision to get involved as a volunteer.… The post Welcoming JBBBS’ New Board Chair, Evan Grossman appeared first on Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Boston.