Filter heroes statewide, by region or by cause.
Marco Cabrera
Traverse City
Hero Story
Marco began serving with our non-profit, our first year, 2019. We support teen parents and their families and one of the services we offer is a mentoring program. Marco was one of just two men wanting to be trained as a mentor. Shortly after the training we paired him with a 19-year old father of an 1-month old. The relationship was slow to start as the client cancelled many times over the first couple of months. Marco switched his approach to just texting and inquiring about the highlights of their days. Finally after two months of this, they got together for coffee. Fast forward three years, Marco and the client still get together. The client has another child and was fortunate to have Marco officiate the wedding of his and his girlfriend. They include each other in their family gatherings and remain close. Marco has since been matched with another one of our clients; a 17-year old whose girlfriend is 7 months pregnant. They have coffee 3 x a month and discuss topics such as finishing high school, emancipation from his parents, apartment rentals and other topics related to adulthood.
Marco is approachable, open-minded and warm. His appearance is such that our adolescent clients find him "cool" but his genuine care and interest in them are that of a father-figure, of which both have neither had. I recently saw Marco and his new mentor match part ways and heard Marco offer a hug. They embraced and the client grinned ear to ear. Marco is making a difference in these two young adult's lives by simply being present and welcoming. He doesn't judge their mistakes but is there to lift them up and help problem solve along the way.
I include Marco in all of my mentor trainings due to his experiences and his nature and adaptability to our clientele. All of our training evals come back highlighting Marco's Q & A and how insightful he was. We are fortunate to have Marco a part of our organization but these two clients have better lives because of him.
Marco Cabrera
Traverse City
Hero Story
Marco began serving with our non-profit, our first year, 2019. We support teen parents and their families and one of the services we offer is a mentoring program. Marco was one of just two men wanting to be trained as a mentor. Shortly after the training we paired him with a 19-year old father of an 1-month old. The relationship was slow to start as the client cancelled many times over the first couple of months. Marco switched his approach to just texting and inquiring about the highlights of their days. Finally after two months of this, they got together for coffee. Fast forward three years, Marco and the client still get together. The client has another child and was fortunate to have Marco officiate the wedding of his and his girlfriend. They include each other in their family gatherings and remain close. Marco has since been matched with another one of our clients; a 17-year old whose girlfriend is 7 months pregnant. They have coffee 3 x a month and discuss topics such as finishing high school, emancipation from his parents, apartment rentals and other topics related to adulthood.
Marco is approachable, open-minded and warm. His appearance is such that our adolescent clients find him "cool" but his genuine care and interest in them are that of a father-figure, of which both have neither had. I recently saw Marco and his new mentor match part ways and heard Marco offer a hug. They embraced and the client grinned ear to ear. Marco is making a difference in these two young adult's lives by simply being present and welcoming. He doesn't judge their mistakes but is there to lift them up and help problem solve along the way.
I include Marco in all of my mentor trainings due to his experiences and his nature and adaptability to our clientele. All of our training evals come back highlighting Marco's Q & A and how insightful he was. We are fortunate to have Marco a part of our organization but these two clients have better lives because of him.