CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - It’s easy to see the impact a mentor can have when you sit down with Lunch Buddies Ben and Dawson.

Ben Gander has been paired up with 5th grader Dawson for four years. They spend lunch and recess together at Trailside Elementary twice a month, building an important connection through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cedar Rapids & East Central Iowa.

Dawson and Gander like to play board games, basketball, and have fun. But they also have more serious conversations.

The maturity level, right?," says Gander. “Doing the right thing all the time...being a good leader in school. So we spent a lot of time talking about how are you leading your classmates? Are you listening to the teacher?”

Gander says those behaviors have a ripple effect to Dawson’s friends and classmat

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