Big Brothers Big Sisters to host Walmart CEO at anniversary event

Over the past three decades, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas has created thousands of mentoring relationships between youth (littles) and adults (bigs) in Benton and Washington counties. The nonprofit will mark its 30th anniversary this year amid rising youth mentorship demand.

The organization will host multiple events this year for the anniversary. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and Kieran Shanahan, chief operating officer for Walmart U.S., will participate in a fireside chat in April. The guest speaker will be Artis Stevens, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. About 400 attendees are expected for the event from 10 a.m. to noon April 30 at Rogers Convention Center.

“We’re going to be celebrating the whole year, and then we’re going to be honoring some of the founders and some of our first matches at our gala in September of this year,” CEO Lance Johnson said.

Johnson said the organization was founded in 1993, but the founders spent two years raising money and preparing to serve youth. The organization considers this year its 30th anniversary because the first match between a child and a mentor was made in December 1995.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas is one of about 230 affiliates of Tampa, Fla.-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and operates as a nonprofit governed by a board of directors. The 16-member board oversees nine full-time and three part-time employees and about 400 volunteers.

The organization works with area schools and families to support youth facing adversity through one-to-one mentoring. Mentors are area volunteers who are vetted by staff. The youth comprise children ages 6 to 18 in Benton and Washington counties, and about 60% are teenagers.

The organization’s recent growth was recognized nationally in 2024 when it received the Growth Award from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. In 2024, the organization logged 7,280 hours of mentorship, and the total number of youth served rose to 433. Johnson said the vision is to scale at the pace of Northwest Arkansas’ growth. It plans to increase the number of youth served by 10% this year. About 40 youth are on a waiting list.

“Schools are where we get most of our referrals,” he said. “They’re looking at kids who are struggling academically, youth who are experiencing bullying … Those types of needs can be served by what we call our lunch buddy program. The idea is we’re putting a volunteer going in during lunch and recess when the kids don’t have as close of communication with the teacher. They’re more vulnerable during that time period, especially if they’re being bullied … Now, this kid becomes a little bit more popular because they have a special visitor that comes every week.”

For children struggling academically, mentors can help with schoolwork during lunch.

“It doesn’t take a lot,” he said. “That’s kind of our slogan right now is it takes little to be big.”

FUNDRASING EVENTS
Johnson said this is the first year the nonprofit’s budget has exceeded $1 million. Most of its funding is raised in the area, primarily through corporate-sponsored events. The national office provides a small federal grant for serving at-risk youth and youth in the juvenile justice system. The nonprofit serves 15 youth annually with the grant.

The April event is one of eight fundraisers this year and will kick off with mentors sharing their volunteer experiences. Admission is $200 and includes breakfast. More information is available online at givebutter.com/dougmcmillon.

“We recently reconnected with one of our very first matches,” he said. “They live in Benton County, and so we’re going to be trying to engage them this year and sharing their story. They were matched 30 years ago this year, and they still are connected very closely.”

Johnson became involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas in 2005 as a student at the University of Arkansas. He was a mentor, or big, to a young boy who still resides in Northwest Arkansas. He mentored the boy for about three years and remains in touch with him via social media.

After graduation, Johnson spent about five years working with child abuse victims under the age of 5 in a preschool setting. Then, he joined the leadership team of Head Start in Washington County. He was director of children’s services, overseeing nine preschools in Washington County and a home-visiting program for Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties.

He joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest as CEO in May 2022.

“I wanted experience working with a different age group,” he said. “Early childhood is tough work. I was in that for about 15 years.”

PROGRAM CHANGES
The organization has changed since Johnson started volunteering in 2005. Initially, it offered one-to-one mentoring to the youth and adult volunteers, but it has since expanded to include the youth and couples or families who are mentors.

Joseph Obiri, who leads the Nestle USA team as global vice president for its Walmart and Sam’s Club businesses, has been board president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas since late 2022. He joined the board in early 2021. Obiri and his family volunteer as mentors to a 7-year-old youth. He said he previously mentored youth as a big in several cities, including Fayetteville.

“I know how lucky I am to have grown up with a village around me that helped guide me and show me what was possible, and I know the support BBBSNWA provides helps guide kids like me, gives support to their caretakers and eventually helps increase the number of productive members of our community,” Obiri said. “There are countless stories of former littles in the area who now are our communities’ college students, teachers or work to support civil services in our growing community.”

Johnson said the organization recently relocated to 97 W. Colt Square Drive in Fayetteville, and the new space will allow for group mentoring. The nationwide trend is that the number of boys signing up exceeds the number of adult men signing up to serve as mentors. Group mentoring can help to close the gap.

He said the organization piloted group mentoring last year, with three men mentoring about 12 boys. He said it will be more focused this year and expanded to Benton County.

The organization also looks to double the capacity of its high school leadership program, a new partnership with Fayetteville High School. It includes high school juniors and seniors who mentor elementary students. It serves 50 students, up from 25 in the previous school year. This fall, he hopes to see it rise to 100 students. The program has 45 high school students serving as mentors to students in four elementary schools in Fayetteville. Johnson said the program may be expanded to Benton County schools.

Another new program is the Beyond School Walls program, which launched in 2023 at Rogers Heritage High School after a successful pilot the previous year. Johnson said the first class to participate in the mentorship program will graduate this May. The program includes mentors and youth who discuss career aspirations, set goals, provide guidance and take field trips to offices of area companies, primarily in the retail sector.

MATCH MAKING
To participate in Big Brothers Big Sisters, families and volunteers undergo an application and interview process before youth are matched with an adult mentor. They are matched based on past experiences, interests and location. Johnson said mentors are asked to spend “a couple hours a month” with the youth. The average length for a match between mentors and youth is 25 months.

Johnson said the organization offers youth facing adversity “a positive role model. It’s just really nice to know that we’re providing the child with that person that’s not their family or their counselor at school that they can open up to and start to form a friendship with.”

Miriam Gonzalez, match support lead at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas, said she supervises three match support specialists who create and support matches. She also oversees program participants and communicates with them. She joined the organization in June 2021 and became a big two years ago.

“We are here for the community; even through a pandemic, we still supported matches,” Gonzalez said. “Just seeing the growth that has happened even in the four years that I have been here is very significant. I think that it makes this 30th anniversary a little more special.”