We respectfully request that the details of this story are not shared outside this evening for confidentiality reasons.

9 year old Jason is a chatty, sweet young boy with lots of different interests. He loves gaming and anything to do with computers. Jason lives with his mother in Auckland, with all his maternal family overseas. He never knew his biological father, who left before Jason was born. 

His mother reached out to BBBS because she was concerned that her son had no positive adult role models in his life, outside of his online gaming. In addition, she was concerned about what sort of role models these online friends were and how this was affecting her son’s behaviour or understanding of masculinity.

Jason had struggled with being bullied at school from an early age. As a result, he lacked the confidence and social skills to maintain strong relationships in real life. 

Upon meeting Jason, his love for computer games and imaginary worlds was very apparent. He had a wild imagination, and when matching him with a mentor, we felt this attribute would benefit from being nurtured. 

Brendan works in the software industry, and grew up in Marlborough before making the move to Auckland as an adult. He recently became a godfather, and this inspired him to give back to kids in Auckland. 

Brendan and Jason have very similar interests. They both love Dungeons and Dragons board games and making models and magical worlds for their toys. They spend hours on the weekends together playing fantasy games. During this time, Jason has become more confident in himself and his individuality, and in his strengths. Brendon has noticed a significant shift in Jason, from being shy and almost embarrassed about his creativity, into a bolder and confident kid.