The program asks that mentors spend about four hours a month with their littles, for a minimum of one year. Activities can range from hanging out to playing games or simple, low-cost outings to parks, movies, restaurants and more.

“It’s been a very rewarding experience,” says Evan Lewis, who works on renewable energy investments for U.S. Bank Community Development Corp. and who has been a mentor for five years. “It’s not a big financial burden either since the organization provides so many perks and activities.”

His “little brother,” Nick, is a middle-schooler in Maryland Heights. Lewis says they have a lot in common, from similar personality types to similar backgrounds — including losing their fathers at a relatively young age.

“It’s almost like looking at myself in the past … just in a different body and different region,” said Lewis, who is originally from Florida. “The program is important to me overall because I wish maybe it’s something I had a chance to participate in as a kid. I did have older brothers but they had their own lives. There wasn’t always a male role model I could hang around with.”

He and Nick like to play video games or sports, and also to eat. One of their latest outings was to get monstrous burgers at the Hi-Pointe Drive-In.