LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — Not many have a calendar as full as Mark Spain’s.

You know him as the anchor on ABC13 News at 5:30, 6 and 11.

But that’s not all Mark does.

Mark is also a father of three, a husband, and a die-hard soccer dad.

But – he also gives back to the community.

Which is why, when I asked him to try out being a Big Brother for a Day, he didn’t even hesitate.

“No matter how much time you spend with a young person can be a life-changing experience,” said Spain.

Big Brothers Big Sisters works around the clock to make sure that every child gets a big brother or a big sister.

But, unfortunately, there are more kids than available mentors, so some kids get placed on the waiting list until a time when a Big Brother or Sister becomes available.

That’s the case of 16-year-old Dre.

Dre is a junior at EC Glass.

He already has a passion and already has a plan for what to do after graduation, which is to be a welder.

And a good reason to keep the plan going.

“I just started doing a lot of research, just wanted to provide for my family,” explained Dre.

But – he and his mom would love a male figure in his life.

His younger sister is already in the program and has a Big Sister.

His mom was in the program when she was his age – and wants Dre to get the same things out of the program that she did.

So – we matched Dre with Mark for a day.

Dre arrived at the station and shadowed Mark, learning about what it takes to put on our show each day.

But – like we’ve said all week – it’s not just about what you do as a mentor; it’s about the time you spend as one.

“I think 5 minutes can seem like 50 minutes to them so that’s what I think that this organization can do for young people,” said Spain.

Dre watched intensely during the show.

But it was really after the show – when Dre got his wish – of someone sharing advice and time.

“He respects his mom, and what she’s been through and he wants to help. So because he wants to do all those things, it’s very easy to want to help a young person achieve those things… and I want to help him in the small ways that I can,” said Spain.

“That’s Mark… That’s Mark,” laughed Dre.

It doesn’t take a lot of time at all to change a kid’s life, and you connect almost before you know it.

If you don’t believe me… ask Mark and Dre.

“Just someone I can chill, maybe relate to, give me advice,” explained Dre.

“That’s all they are looking for is someone who can help be a guide,” Spain said. “They can bounce things off of, they can learn from, they can see what you’re doing and go wow, if he’s doing that maybe I can do that.”

I hope this week of stories and testimonies shows you just how important Big Brothers Big Sisters is in our community, and just how easy it is to help.

If you’d like to make a donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters, you can do that here.

If you’d like more information on how to become a mentor the first step is reaching out.

You can stop by the Big Brothers Big Sisters offices on Langhorne Road.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is also having its largest fundraiser of the year very soon!

See some of the area’s largest companies and groups battle it out on stage in “the Feud” on November 18th.