LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hundreds of children between 6 and 18 years old across Kentucky benefit from one-on-one mentoring relationships through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.

Right now, the program needs mentors with hundreds of kids waiting to find one.

6 years ago, Stuart Miles and Carlos Tomas Ramirez matched when looking for a mentor/mentee and have been big and little ever since.

“At the time I wasn't doing too well. I was kind of a bad kid at the time and didn't have my life straight and I thought someone like Mr. Stuart would help me, and he really did,” Ramirez said.

According to Big Brothers Big Sisters, 1 in 3 kids say they don’t have a positive adult influence in their lives, and more than 500 children are on their waitlist awaiting a mentor.

Thanks to the mentorships Big Brothers Big Sisters offer, 99% of littles avoided involvement with the juvenile justice system, 96% graduated on time and 89% reported stable or improved mental well-being.

“Every child that goes into the juvenile detention center for 6 months, it costs the state $157,000 per child and we have had a huge success rate with our bigs and our littles,” said Daniel Price, community relations director with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Thanks to “Mr. Stuart” as Carlos says, he was able to fill that gap. He's noticed a difference in his attitude, grades and performance on the pitch.

“It’s just great to hang out with Carlos. I had three daughters growing up and never had that opportunity to mentor a boy and man now, and so it's just been awesome to be able to have that opportunity,” Miles said.

Miles has helped Ramirez pursue soccer, the game he loves, even when he thought it was impossible.

“He’s helped me buy things that I needed when my mom couldn't,” Ramirez said. “Back then we didn't have the money to buy cleats or anything for soccer and I didn't think I was going to play soccer until he came.”

Through the mentorship, Ramirez said Miles has now become a member of his family.

“He’s a part of my family. He was like my dad, he's basically my dad,” Ramirez said. “He’s taken care of me, he’s made sure I was OK and helped my mom out with a lot of things and he’s brought happiness to all of my family, even my sisters.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana covers 7 counties in Kentucky and 3 counties in Indiana. The organization has 613 youth through one-on-one mentoring, 3,000 lives through staff connections and 18,000 hours spent on enrollment, training and match support by the program team.

You can find more information on the Louisville Adult Soccer League Stuart and Carlos participate in here.