Floyd Weatherspoon is an attorney and a professor at Capital University Law School and has been a volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters for seven years. Floyd was honored by Big Brothers Big Sisters with the Richardson Award for Service, and is a member of Key Club, United Way's leadership giving group for AfricanAmericans.

Floyd's involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters stems from both his personal and professional life. He researches and writes about drop-out and incarceration rates for African-American males, and understands the staggering scope of these issues.. Floyd also knows personally the struggles that growing up without a father figure can create for a young person. Despite not having a father in his life, Floyd was "fortunate enough to be raised in a neighborhood with strong male role models", and saw firsthand the positive contributions this can make in a young person's life.

Floyd has been a mentor to two little brothers. Floyd mentored his first little brother for seven years, helping him enter Job Corps,an education training program helping young people learn a career, and earn a high school diploma or GED. Floyd still keeps in close contact with his first little brother, who is 19 and graduating from Job Corps this spring. Floyd's second little brother is in the 5th grade, and the two are building a relationship through participating in activities and spending time together.

"I recognize from my experience growing up without a father and from my research the importance of having a positive male role model in the lives of young African-American males," Floyd says. "I want to be a part of the solution to these problems in a direct way, and that is what being a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters does. It directly connects with a young person in need."

Click here to learn more about volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio