Sometimes, it’s about two guys putting together a gingerbread house kit. At age 11, a boy like Heaven Lowe is soaking up all those new experiences.

A gingerbread house needs frosting, and to make frosting, a guy needs to know how to separate the egg white from the yolk, his “big brother” says.

Big Brothers Big Sisters sets up matches like this all around the region, working with 1,200 children — almost evenly divided between boys and girls — who have mentors.

Heaven’s mom, Miranda Cady, 31, has three sons in the mentoring program. The boys’ father provides child support, but isn’t very involved in their daily lives, she says. She receives financial aid while taking online classes at Washington State University’s Global Campus, studying psychology and human resources management.

“A lot of my family never went to college,” she says. Cady’s goal is to open up a group home for foster children. With her background, she says about being a foster child, “I know how bad it can be.”

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Omaha World-Herald