Derec Baxter and Roman Rathert were matched July 27. It was the birth of an important friendship.

Baxter, an SIUC student, and 13-year-old Rathert spend time together each week doing an array of activities since finding each other through a local Big Brothers-Big Sisters program. Rathert has been involved in a whirlwind of activities since.

Once or twice a week we’ll go out to eat, go to the mall, go hiking or go fishing, he said. We’ve even gone to the St. Louis Galleria Mall and to an airport control tower.

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Baxter, a senior in aviation flight management from Crystal Lake, and Rathert, a middle school student from Carbondale, are involved in the Big Brothers-Big Sisters program of Jackson and Perry counties. Since 1994, the program has been serving youths between the ages of 6 and 12, primarily from single-parent homes.

Art Zaitz, a program director of Southern Illinois Regional Social Services at 604 E. College St., where Big Brothers-Big Sisters is based, believes there are many advantages to the mentoring program.

It gives kids who don’t have a positive role model a better chance, he said. It puts them in an environment that increases the chance for an academic outlet. It also lowers instances of teen pregnancy, drug use and crime.

Big Brothers-Big Sisters of America Inc. began as two separate programs of the New York City Juvenile Court system. The Big Brothers program began in 1904, and a Big Sisters program began in 1908. Both programs eventually expanded outside of the court system and spread to other parts of the nation.

In 1977, Big Brothers and Big Sisters International merged to form the present program, providing an array of social experiences for children worldwide.

Here in Carbondale, Baxter and Rathert have found their own benefits for being in the program. For Baxter, one benefit is the ability to rest and spend relaxing time with someone who is not experiencing the everyday stressful life a college student.

Rathert has found the program to be rewarding because he has trouble relating to his peers.

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My classmates don’t understand me, he said. Now I get to hang around someone I can talk to and that I enjoy being around.

Aside from their everyday activities, the two have been working on a project that would allow those in the Big Brothers-Big Sisters program to receive discounts when out with their Littles, or child partners.

Their project involves creating a discount card that would have the Big Brothers-Big Sisters program name, along with about 15 business that have agreed to provide store discounts for program participants.

We are hoping to get it finished by the end of February, Baxter said. So far we’ve had definite approval from Baskin Robbins, Papa John’s, The Sports Center, and The Science Center in the mall.

Both Baxter and Rathert are confident that they will be able to provide Big Brothers-Big Sisters with an inexpensive means of entertainment. But, they still have concerns about getting other students involved in the program.

There are about 25 Littles who don’t have Bigs (mentors), Baxter said. College students think that because of the atmosphere they live in, that they wouldn’t make good role models. I understand. I lived on Beveridge Street with beer in the fridge and roommates who smoked cigarettes when I applied. I didn’t know if I’d be qualified.

But you can still live the life of a college student and be a role model. You just have to balance your time.

Factoid:Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Jackson and Perry counties is scheduling a Bowl For Kids Sake fund-raising campaign in April. To sign up to be a team captain or to find out how to become involved with Big Brothers-Big Sisters, call 457-6703.