Taking in an Iowa Cubs game, participating in a summer basketball camp or just hanging out and eating freshly baked chocolate chip cookies may be standard fare for many Greater Des Moines teens. For 13-year-old Ahmed Sama, however, they’re cherished memories.

For nearly two years, Ahmed has been the “little brother” of Mike Peterson, his mentor through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa. During that time, Peterson, who’s been with Meredith Corp. for 25 years as a sales executive, has gone from someone with little knowledge of the program to become one of its most enthusiastic advocates – and a member of the organization’s board.

“I had always enjoyed coaching my daughter’s softball and basketball teams, and I just felt a need to get back and involved,” said Peterson, who also knew a couple of “Bigs” at Meredith. “I felt the time was right to do this. … One day I just said to my wife, ‘I’m just going to stop out at the Big Brothers office and just inquire as to what the organization is all about and the process.’ I ended up spending an hour and a half talking with a person who was very informative.”

Besides being impressed with the staff, “another thing I was impressed with was how they assess your interests and the interests of the child and pretty much match you up that way,” Peterson said. “One of the things I was interested in, I wanted someone who was in the 11-to-13 range, and a child who was interested in outdoor activities and sports.”

Ahmed is one of 1,044 children in Central Iowa who as of last year were matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister through the program. Based on surveys of parents and teachers, Big Brothers Big Sisters has proved to be effective in substantially raising those kids’ self-esteem, school performance and their ability to relate to others. The organization currently has 137 children on its waiting list, 85 percent of whom are boys awaiting matches with male mentors.

The volunteer mentors, who on average meet with their “Littles” for outings two or three times a month, go through an extensive background check and interview process, both to protect the children and to determine the best possible matches based on their interests.

“I think everyone who gets involved with us wants to help a child, no doubt about it,” said Althea Holcomb, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa. “But Mike’s face kind of illuminates when he talks about Ahmed. He’s constantly thinking of opportunities for Ahmed to see the world in a different way. It’s really a cool thing, and I think it’s something all of our volunteers try to do.

“I like to say, if you just look at one window your whole life, how do you know about anything else about the world but what you see from that window? We give kids other views so they can dream and have other options for themselves.”

The process of getting to know each other and developing a relationship from which real communication can occur takes time, Peterson said.

“I would say in the first three months, each of you are kind of checking the other person out, and from the child’s perspective, clearly developing a sense of trust in that person,” he said. “I think it’s really important in this mentoring process to follow through on things. If I mention to Ahmed that we should do something in the future, he is very quick to remind me if we haven’t.”

Some of their recent activities have included a night at the Civic Center to see “The Lion King.” The organization is good about providing no-cost events for its mentors; in this case, the tickets were provided by Meredith. Another time, Allied Insurance donated tickets to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and made its suite at the Wells Fargo Arena available during the event.

Some of the expenses have come out of Peterson’s pocket, with the approval of Big Brothers. For instance, he sent Ahmed and one of his younger brothers to the Tom Davis Basketball Camp last summer. And before seeing “The Lion King,” Peterson fulfilled Ahmed’s long-held wish to eat a steak dinner at a restaurant.

“We went to Judge Roy Bean’s; I know the owners there and they made him feel pretty special,” Peterson said.

Another special moment came during an Iowa Cubs game, when a foul ball hit by Corey Patterson bounced off Peterson’s arm and became a once-in-a-lifetime prize for Ahmed.

“That night, he could hardly get to the house fast enough to show his brothers; he was so proud of that ball. That’s one of the things where you look back and you hope you can say you’ve brought some joy into this kid’s life.”

The trust that developed was evident after a year, when riding on the sky glider at the Iowa State Fair, Ahmed asked Mike for advice because he was nervous about the prospect of entering junior high school in the fall.

“Part of my role, as I see it, is to make him comfortable with a lot of things a kid his age gets anxious about,” Peterson said.

“The nice thing about this organization is that even though you have the organization as the solidifying agent that keeps it moving forward, a lot of it is just your one-on-one relationship,” he said. “On any given weeknight, Ahmed may just call me to talk about something. He called not too long ago and just said nothing more than just, ‘Gee, I’m kind of bored; what are you and Margaret doing?’ So it’s really just providing the individual another outlet, and really another perspective on things.”

Recently, at the request of Ahmed’s mother, Peterson spoke to the boy about an issue that had come up at school. “Sometimes a child will listen to an outsider more than they will a parent just because they’re at that age,” he said.

Because his wife, Margaret, teaches in the English as a second language program for the Des Moines public schools, “that’s been very helpful to me. Ahmed and his family came from Liberia in 1994. She has actually been able to give me a lot of insight into some of the challenges that these families face in the United States. And the kids love her chocolate chip cookies.”

Last July, Peterson was asked to join the Big Brothers board, and has since recruited several of his colleagues at Meredith to become Bigs as well.

“When you get into this, it’s easy to think about what you’re going to give to the child,” he said. “But you don’t think about what that relationship is going to do for you. It’s a two-way street. I think in many ways this makes me a better employee, because it gives me a different perspective on things. It’s a great diversion.”

For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa, visit its Web site, www.biglink.org.