In the summer of 2007, Jim Wales was considering an important question: What’s next? He had just retired from more than a decade of cultivating Crosstex Energy Services. As part of its founding management team, he took the fledgling company to more than 700 workers and a multibillion-dollar market cap. One might think that personal success in the energy domain would satisfy his craving, but Wales was left wanting more.

“I wanted to go from success to significance,” Wales told Midstream Business.

These two words are very different for Wales. In the first, one counts his 30 years in the energy industry. In the other, he counts his social contributions.

After consulting with a friend who was involved in the organization, he joined the Dallas board of Big Brothers Big Sisters, a mentoring organization that pairs children and youth (Littles) with carefully screened volunteer mentors (Bigs).

It aims primarily to provide guidance for children facing adversity, often from low-income or single-parent households. Wales saw in the organization an opportunity to give back to his community, and after considering the passing of his older brother in 2005 to substance abuse, he decided to become more involved in mentoring. In addition to filling out his role as an executive board member, Wales simultaneously took the step to become a “Big Brother” himself.

“It was the only way I could truly understand the mentoring process. I wanted to walk the walk as well as talk the talk,” he said. “I wanted to make a difference on an individual level, to inspire him to make better choices and make better decisions. I lost my big brother, so why not dedicate my time to becoming one?”

After going through the screening process, Wales met Tristan.

‘Pure magic’

“When I met him at 12 years old, it was pure magic,” he said fondly. Tristan Banks had been living in a divided home with a family that was unable to care for him. Wales has been his mentor ever since.

In the time that Wales served on the board and as a mentor to Tristan, his Big Brothers Big Sisters organization has continued to expand, eventually adopting the name Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star after merging with community agencies in Paris, Abilene, Brownwood, San Angelo and Greater Houston, and sprouting new centers in Waco, Waxahachie, Wichita Falls, Stephenville and Jack County. Now serving 100 counties in Texas, it is the largest Big Brothers Big Sisters organization in the country.

A few years after joining Big Brothers Big Sisters, Wales’ business success led him to seek further involvement with the organization. After co-founding Teak Midstream LLC in October 2009, he sold it in May 2012 to Atlas Pipeline Partners LP, and he found himself in the position of being able to take on the role of chairman of the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star in July 2013.

“I believe we’re here on Earth to do good. I’m fortunate to be able to give back and serve a cause like Big Brothers Big Sisters. I took the chairman role to serve the mentoring cause, to make a difference in the lives of these young people.”

Under Wales’ stewardship, Lone Star has grown to serve more than 10,000 mentor-mentee matches. It continues to explore avenues for newer programs, including a technology enriched e-mentoring program called Mentor 2.0 and Military Mentoring, a program specifically designed for children experiencing the military lifestyle, often with a parent currently serving in the armed forces. Also, Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star is in the process of searching for a new space to build its Houston office.

The biggest challenge facing Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star is resources, Wales said.

Riding the energy wave

“We suffered from the recession,” he said. “We’ve had to energize our fundraising efforts. One of the things I’ve tried to do in the energy business, where I’ve been over the last seven years with the shale plays, is to help the agency ride the energy wave. These kids desperately need something in their lives.”

As a result of financial constraints and an intensive, safety-minded screening process, some youth spend over a year on the waiting list. In addition to the safety concerns, Wales attributes the insufficient amount of volunteers to a misconception about what it means to mentor in the organization.

“How do you get more volunteers? It’s a product of getting the word out, and what being a Big means and what it doesn’t. They [the kids] just love time. They really don’t have a positive role model. If adults spend four hours a month, they will ultimately realize that they’ll get a gift from their Little,” he added.

Wales said he has received the gifts of perspective and joy.

“When you sit down over lunch, go golfing or go to a game, you realize how uninstructed and naïve they can be. They have no knowledge of so many things. It showed me all the things that I take for granted. It teaches me to be grounded and understand where I came from to have two loving parents who inspired me to make good choices,” he said.

In the course of his time as Tristan’s mentor, Wales has guided him through the turmoil of his teenage years. In meeting almost every week, usually on Sundays, Wales and Tristan have shared meals, haircuts and rounds of golf.

Off to college

Wales has also helped Tristan find housing, negotiate interactions with his family and successfully complete his GED. Tristan is currently applying for enrollment at Abilene Christian University, which he hopes to attend this fall. Tristan’s success is indicative of many others of his peers in the program, Wales said.

“When you see him making a good choice, and you’re going to their graduation and they’re enrolling in college, you realize that they’re achieving a level of success more than what they might otherwise. You inspire and believe in them so that they believe in themselves.”

He hopes that his time with his Little has inspired those around him, including his daughters, to contribute positively to their community.

“I feel a self-actualization that I’ve made a difference in a positive way. I want to show my daughters what it means to give back and do good both outside my home and inside my home,” he said.

In addition to wishing to help on a personal level, Wales believes that society has a responsibility to help those in unfortunate circumstances.

“In North Texas alone, in 2007, there were 70,000 kids with a parent in prison. Of those, 15,000 had both parents in prison. Unless somebody shows up in their life to help them, guess where they’ll wind up? Guess who will pay for that? We as a society need to make the economic decision. If we don’t make a difference, if we don’t give our resources, we’re going to perpetuate what we’ve experienced in the past,” he added.

According to Public/Private Ventures, a Philadelphia-based research organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters has had a positive impact on youth. According to its 1995 study, after 18 months of time with their Bigs, the Littles were 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs, 27% less likely to begin using alcohol and 52% less likely to skip school.

Its more recent 2011 study found significant improvements in 83.5% of its mentees in its three “strategic outcomes areas:” socio-emotional competence, avoidance of risky behaviors and educational success.

Although he might humbly play it down, Wales has achieved no small level of significance.

“Tristan has become a part of my life,” he added. “I look forward to spending a little of my time with him every week. He has, as I think many Brothers and Sisters do, become family.”

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