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Mark always knew kids would be part of his life. After going through treatment for an osteosarcoma in college, the how of what that would look like became more of a question due to side effects from the chemo.
When Mark and his partner moved to the Portland area in 2010, Mark quickly got connected with Big Brothers Big Sisters and was matched with his Little, Justin. Justin was almost 10 when they met for the first time.
Mark died from pancreatic cancer in 2023, but the 12 years before were full of shared life for him and Justin. Mark got to be there as Justin moved from elementary to middle to high school and watched him graduate, and he was there for all the ups and downs that go with those years.
Justin was there as Mark became a foster parent and later had biological children, as Mark moved through different jobs in the world of residential design and eventually started his own business, and as Mark was diagnosed with two more cancers.
Summer weekends were marked with trips to the Wilson River footbridge. On weekends when it seemed like there wasn’t enough time to make the trip and Mark’s wife asked him why, he said it was about the ride out and talking as they sat next to each other, not the time at the river.
Showing up is one of the most important gifts we have to offer each other in this life. If Mark were here, he would invite you to show up for your community. As much as money is needed— it costs around $4,500 to support a Little and their Big for the first year— mentors are needed, especially men. You are invited to honor Mark’s memory by joining Big Brothers Big Sisters’ mission to help youth in your community reach their full potential.
You can maximize your support with a monthly gift by joining the Big Friends Circle. Monthly giving ensures reliability and long-term growth, just like how Bigs showing up for their Littles every month does!
Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest Donor Privacy Policy
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Columbia Northwest (BBBSCNW) is committed to respecting the privacy of its monetary and in-kind donors, whether the donation is made online, by mail, or any other method. When making an in-kind donation, supporters are asked to provide their name and contact information. Monetary donors are asked to provide standard payment information, including, in many circumstances, credit or debit card data. We protect your information in a variety of ways, as described below.
BBBSCNW uses industry-standard safeguards to protect your information. We protect the security of your credit or debit card transactions using a number of measures such as encryption, access controls, network firewalls, and physical security. These measures make it extremely difficult for anyone to intercept your credit or debit card information. When working with other companies to process credit or debit card transactions, those companies also use encryption and other appropriate security measures.
We will not sell, share, or trade our donors’ personally identifiable information with any other entity, with the exception of our vendors who assist us with processing and managing donations and donor data. Please note, these vendors are bound by strict confidentiality rules and can only use donor data to support BBBSCNW operations. In addition, we will not send mailings to our donors on behalf of other organizations unless a donor has given us specific permission to do so.