By Kate Green, West Valley View Staff Writer
For Andrew Hennessey and JJ Johnson, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona (BBBSAZ) provided them with an opportunity to develop a long-lasting and meaningful relationship.
In 2023, Hennessey signed up to be a big brother with the desire of helping someone in the community.
“Throughout college, throughout my childhood, really, I always volunteered and worked with kids at school that were younger than me, providing tutoring and things like that, mentorship opportunities, and really enjoyed it,” Hennessey said. “My mom was a schoolteacher for a long time, and you know, I was able to observe her in the classroom, and you know, I just always wanted to give back and help in lots of ways.”
While he was in college, he volunteered through his scholarship program with high-need, low-income elementary students. He also helped recruit members for Indiana University’s service-learning program.
“I was able to learn about different programs like the Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Girl Inc. and other nonprofits. Pretty soon after college, you know, I wanted to work with one of those programs as I entered my career,” Hennessey said.
After moving to Phoenix, knowing he would be here more permanently, he signed up to volunteer with BBBSAZ. They matched him with Johnson, who was a high school sophomore at the time.
For Johnson, he was inspired to join BBBSAZ because of his cousin who had been in the program before.
“She was like always bragging to me about how her big sister was, how they were always going out every weekend and always just having fun, and at that big brother’s sister match, people with any type of interest that you have,” Johnson said. “And then next thing you know, I was matched with Andrew, and then ever since then, it’s just been like a whole bunch of fun. Like, now he’s like family.”
At their first meeting, Hennessy and Johnson knew almost immediately that it was a match. As their relationship began, they started out getting lunch together and trying new restaurants. Over time, though, Johnson asked Hennessey if they could do more together, like bowling or shopping.
“I just like appreciated right off the bat that JJ felt comfortable enough to kind of tell me, you know, what he was expecting out of our relationship and how we could refine it. And I think that’s even changed over the last couple of years, right? Like even during periods when we’re both really busy,” Hennessey said. “Sometimes our schedule kind of, like, isn’t perfectly aligned; we still text and still check in with each other to make sure, like, hey, if you need anything, let’s make it work.”
Johnson is now a senior in high school, and Hennessey has been helping him prepare application materials for college and find scholarships.
Johnson said that his help had really made him understand all the ways that he has benefited from their relationship.
“Even a while back, before I even started school, Andrew asked me if I wanted to go to the Tempe Marketplace to get like some school items and stuff,” Johnson said. “He was just basically taking the initiative on almost everything, and that’s where I feel like it benefits me the most because it’s like sometimes I’m scared to make that next step and stuff. But then Andrew’s like, ‘I got you. Come on, let’s go.’”
In 2025, Johnson and his family moved to Texas, officially ending their match with BBBSAZ.
“He had told me this is going to be the last time that we hang out because I’m moving, and I remember being so upset and like wanting to also keep it cool because I had to support him and understand that like this is also a big change for JJ and his family, and they have to do what’s best for them,” Hennessey said.
“I thought it was amazing that his mom is super involved and a huge supporter of his representation in the pair,” Hennessey said. “We all kind of talked about what our relationship could look like, even when he was in Texas.”
They decided that they would dissolve the match but continue to keep in contact.
“Thinking about him starting at a new school for his junior year, or moving across the country where he might not know anyone. Like I’ve been there. I was a teenager, and I moved twice in high school, and it wasn’t easy,” Hennessey said. “I saw myself in JJ and wanted to make sure he knew that there’s somebody with the same experience as him, and that, like, even if he felt lonely or had a hard time adjusting from another state, he could still talk to me.”
So Johnson and his family moved.
“I was excited for it, but at the same time I was also nervous because I was like, ‘Dang, I’m leaving everyone I know in Arizona,” Johnson said. “I was like so nervous and everything, and then me being there, I wasn’t at my highest. Texas wasn’t really for me.
After expressing to his mom some of the difficulties he was having, his family made the decision to move back to the Valley later in 2025. Johnson was excited to tell Hennessey, but he was also worried that Hennessey may have rematched and gotten a new little brother.
“Big Brothers Big Sisters has such a pipeline and a need for Big Brothers, and so as soon as our match was dissolved, they did reach out and ask if I would be interested in another match, and my answer was yes,” Hennessey said. “But my answer was also that I needed time.”
“The universe has ways of kind of like blocking things and also inviting things into your life when they’re necessary. And so I’m really glad I listened to, like, my gut and said, even though I want to be a big brother again, I’m gonna pause,” Hennessey said. “And doing so, and like having that patience and discernment, it ultimately brought me and JJ back together.”
Johnson remembers the moment he asked Hennessey very vividly.
“I was like, literally, running around the house, like, yo, I got my big brother back, and I was so excited,” Johnson said. “When we moved back, I think we had to go through the meeting and the Zoom call again, kind of just get everything restarted. But it was like I never left.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters Arizona is always looking for more volunteers to help support kids of all ages across the valley. Hennessey and Johnson both have advice for people considering taking on the role of a big.
“You have to come to the table as a big or little with an open mind and willingness to learn and grow, right? Like, I think JJ and I are a great match, and I think that the program staff knows what will make a great match, and they’re really good at, like, placing personalities and different types of people together, but at the same time, like I feel like I learned so much from JJ,” Hennessey said. “I would say, the most important thing is being open, willing to learn and patient.”
“My advice, honestly, is kind of the same thing. It’s like you have to come in, like expecting the unknown, like coming in with open arms because this person you’re meeting for the first time, they’re meeting you for the first time too,” Johnson said.
While officially their match has only been active for 10 months — after they restarted it — the two have known each other for three years, and Johnson and Hennessey plan to keep in contact even when their match comes to an end after Johnson turns 18.
“Andrew helping me out with college kind of makes me feel like, OK, maybe even in college I could still talk to Andrew, even when I’m past college, in adult life, I could still talk to him and hang out,” Johnson said.