Building a career of connecting people

At the Big Brothers Big Sisters office, Jesse Mahugh can reel off statistics that give shape to the children he hopes to reach.

Roughly 30 percent of Flathead County high school students reported feeling hopeless, according to the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Roughly 10 percent reported being forced to have sex. At least 33 percent said they had their first drink before turning 14. Almost 20 percent reported considering suicide.

“There’s a lot of good happening here in the valley, but there’s also a big need,” Mahugh, 33, said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do to match these kids with someone — it changes so much.”

Mahugh has always been intrigued by bridging generational gaps. That fascination pulled him into a series of careers that revolve around trying to connect people.

Within the last decade, Mahugh has worked with the Poverello Center, Camp Mak-A-Dream, DREAM Adaptive Recreation, Habitat for Humanity and now serves as executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flathead County (www.bbbsfc.org).

“I think so much can happen when you cross boundaries made by age or situation,” he said.

During church as a teenager, Mahugh would watch an older man called Pinky and his dog, Taffy, fall asleep together in the pew. When he was given a class assignment to talk with someone who lived through the Great Depression, Mahugh picked Pinky.

He learned about saving money when there was hardly anything to save, listened to stories of train hopping, and realized adventure could be tied to every job.

Through Pinky, Mahugh understood a world he never experienced. And he wanted more.

Mahugh formed a student club at Flathead High School, Adopt an Elder, which paired students with seniors throughout the community. They formed roughly 80 matches.

As a student at Flathead Valley Community College, Mahugh looked for more opportunities to connect people and began a path toward politics. He was elected as class president and started knocking out general credits.

When he was diagnosed with a brain tumor during his second year at FVCC, life paused for doctor appointments and long talks.

Just two weeks later, Mahugh balanced his new role as a patient with the position of student, president and Applebee’s server.

“Having a brain tumor is a part of my story, but I didn’t let it become the whole thing,” Mahugh said. “Though I guess I could have missed certain experiences without that diagnosis.”

Mahugh said his time battling cancer allowed him to have a new level of sympathy for others. It also led him to be an advocate for living a full life even when balancing health concerns.

His experience motivated him to participate in events such as Ratpod (a 130-mile bike ride around the Pioneer Mountains that raises money for Camp Mak-A-Dream), the Missoula Marathon and a 12-day hike to the base camp of Mount Everest to raise money for the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation.

After graduating from FVCC, Mahugh still liked the idea of entering politics until he volunteered at Missoula’s homeless shelter, the Poverello Center.

There he saw college students, homeless people and professionals plan their days together. They worked like a system. Some collected food from grocery stores and cooked while others determined where everyone would sleep that night.

“Everything clicked for me then,” Mahugh said. “I’m glad some people become politicians, but it’s not for me. I can do more in places like this office, with my giant staff of three.”

A bookshelf in Mahugh’s office displays how-to fundraising books and flyers for upcoming Big Brothers Big Sisters events.

The branch currently has roughly 60 youths matched with role models in the county. Mahugh hopes to increase that by 50 more matches this year.

Mahugh said the team is preparing for fundraising season, and with it comes the lines he has memorized.

“I like to tell people that each kid we serve costs about $1,000 a year — compared with the $73,000 average cost of a stay at Pine Hills Youth Correctional Facility,” he said.

Mahugh said the next step in growing the Big Brothers Big Sisters program in the Flathead Valley is raising enough money to support a fourth staff member.

On May 5, the team will host its largest fundraiser of the year, A Night to Change a Life. Last year the event brought in roughly $40,000, although Mahugh said this year the team hopes to collect $80,000 to afford 50 more matches and the new staffer.

“I know I talk about fundraising a lot, but that’s always a part of this kind of work,” he said. “I guess this work is what I’ve always done, or at least tried to do — connect people for a reason.”

To purchase tickets for A Night to Change a Life, call 752-0092 or go online to www.bbbsfc.org.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.