by Robin Layton, Marketing Director, Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sister
Guy and Naomi Lydick are busy people. With four children under 16 at home, their dedication to church and many sports events to get to, not to mention Guy’s career as Value Stream Manager with Cobham Aerospace, there isn’t a lot of downtime.
However, this Prescott Valley family did not let their packed schedule keep them from making a difference in the life of a community child.
In a Family Match for a year and a half, the Lydicks spend eight hours or so a month with Little Brother Cory, 8.
Guy heard about Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters through a presentation at Cobham. The company’s General Manager John Payne serves on the YBBBS Board of Trustees.
“Cobham has been involved with Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters for a number of years and we are proud to be associated with the No. 1 charity in Arizona,” said John. “More importantly, we feel privileged to be able to support the children of our community, both financially and through the time of people like Guy, Naomi and their family. When you hear accounts of what a difference just a small amount of time can make to these kids, you realize how incredibly powerful the impact is.”
Guy shared, “I felt impressed at that meeting that we could make a difference to a child in our community. I talked to my wife Naomi first and then we took it to our children in a family council meeting. We’ve had so many blessings in our life that we thought if there was a child in our community who needs us, we could do that.”
So with the agreement of their children, Dan, 15; William, 13; Graham, 8; and Lily, 5, Guy and Naomi were matched with Cory, whose grandmother Diane Read works with Guy at Cobham.
“I knew that I wanted Guy to be my grandson’s Big because I respect his strong moral values and he believes family is a top priority,” said Diane. “I thought he would be a good influence for my grandson. I later discovered that the whole family was going to be participating, which was also great as my grandson could see how a stable family co-existed.”
“My grandson loves spending time with them and gets excited every time he knows they are picking him up. I have noticed good changes in my grandson’s behavior, which I attribute to what he witnesses at their house.”
“My Bigs are fun. I really like pizza and movie nights, and they take me swimming,” said Cory.
Naomi said it’s easy to include Cory in the family dynamic. “We do what we normally do, we just take Cory with us. He’s happy to do whatever the family does.”
“It’s the most natural for us this way,” agreed Guy.
For instance, the family participated in Earth Day activities around their home and Cory joined them in picking up trash, followed by a neighborhood BBQ. “He loved it. The kids treated it like a treasure hunt,” said Naomi.
Cory’s Mom Crystal feels the match is a huge positive for him. “Since Cory has been with his Family Bigs, he’s had something healthy and fun to look forward to.”
“We’re friends to him, we talk and we listen,” said Guy.
The commitment works for the family because they incorporate their activities with the time spent with Cory. “You have to make it a priority, it’s only eight hours a month. We do twice a month, about four hours at a time,” Naomi said.
“What’s one more?” adds Guy. “Cory goes along to one of our kids’ piano recitals and he’ll say, ‘oh, I want to try that, too.’ It’s been really sweet.”
It’s evident the match is a good fit for Cory.
Guy shared that once Cory told his YBBBS Match Advisor that he feels like someone besides his mom loves him. “When you commit to a child, it’s hard not to grow to love that child,” said Guy.
If you’d like to learn more about making a difference in the life of a community child, please give YBBBS Recruitment Coordinator Kameron a call at (928) 778-5135.
