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Big Brother of the year takes steps to make a difference

What’s the first step in making a difference?
PHOTOS: Kamal Shakir

What’s the first step in making a difference?

Showing up.

Stephon Avery is 18 years old. On a warm day in November, he has shown up at a bowling alley, waiting for the person he says made him the person he is.

“I’m ready for Kamal!” he says.

Kamal Shakir is Avery’s Big Brother with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta.

On this day, he is hurrying up through a busy day at work – “this is technically a day off,” he says – to meet with his mentee.

Shakir is a longtime Atlantan and a father. He decided, six years ago, to take the first step for someone who needed a father figure.

“Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for the program,” Shakir said, “there are plenty of kids in need of Big Brothers.”

Before they met, Stephon used to show up in the principal’s office.

“I was not a good child,” he recalls. “I would always get in trouble. Back then I didn’t care what happened. I just wanted … I wanted to do what I wanted to do.”

Stephon’s mom signed him up for a Big Brother.

In came Shakir.

The goal, from the beginning: show up and teach.

“We shot basketball and played games until both of our arms were ready to fall off,” Shakir remembers.

Stephon adds, “It’d be be twice a week, we’d meet … twice a week, twice a week, twice a week … I’d begin to expect it, like, ‘Hey are we gonna meet?’ ‘Oh yeah, we’re gonna meet up!’”

As Shakir kept showing up, Stephon kept growing up.

“Everybody has potential, but you need someone to come unlock that potential,” says Stephon. “Kamal did that, you know?”

On this day, Shakir shows up at the bowling alley – and then hangs around to play basketball with Stephon at a nearby court. And as they depart for the day, both the big brother and the little brother have no doubt they’ll be showing up again very soon.

If you would like to nominate someone for our 11 Who Care Community Service Awards to recognize the difference they make in the Metro Atlanta community, visit the 11Alive nominate page here.

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