Cedar Rapids couple takes on ‘Big’ role in community

This story first appeared in Prestige - December 2025, a biannual special section distributed in The Gazette dedicated to Iowans 55+.

For Cedar Rapids couple Kent and Polly Mattison, volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cedar Rapids & Eastern Iowa has been a win-win situation, keeping them young and active while getting to help young people achieve their dreams.

“Polly and I have three grandsons. If you talk to any grandparent (about) how much fun and rewarding it is to get together with their grandkids, it’s the same type of relationship — getting to see them grow up and become a young adult,” Kent said.

Kent has been volunteering with the program since 2006, and Polly joined soon after. He had heard a lot about Big Brothers Big Sisters, and with his own kids nearly grown, really wanted to try it.

“I enjoy kids, so I thought I’d see how it worked out, and I really enjoy it,” Kent said. “I think it’s as much fun for me as it’s been for Omarion and the others.”

Both Kent and Polly are currently with their third “Little.” Kent and Omarion West, 15, like to go to places like AirFX, Lost Island Waterpark and Iowa State football games (Kent is an ISU alumnus). Sometimes they do things with Kent and Polly’s nine-year-old grandson, giving Omarion a chance to be a “big brother” to him.

“We either do something that’s very active, or we try to learn something we’ve never learned before,” said West, who attends Prairie High School.

Polly has been matched for eight years with Daemirra Henry, 15, a Kennedy High School student whom she calls an “old soul.”

“It’s been a joy just to see Daemirra grow up,” Polly said. “I hope it slows down a little bit personally, but I don’t think it will, and I just want to be a part of her reaching for the stars.”

The Big Brothers Big Sisters program asks “Bigs” to commit to connecting once a month with a child. They can do so one-on-one, as a couple or family.

While some might worry about the time commitment, both Kent and Polly say it has been easy to do. Kent is now retired, but he became involved in the program while he was still working and traveling frequently. Polly has been working throughout her time with the program for Midwest Microwave Solutions in Hiawatha.

When she first started spending time with Henry, Polly would organize a long afternoon hangout once a month to get ice cream or go to the park. Now that Henry is busy with high school activities, they connect a little bit at a time, whether it’s getting a pizza, doing errands together or just sitting in her driveway chatting.

“You can kind of make it whatever works best for both of you,” Polly said.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters program also organizes group outings to give Bigs and Littles a chance to hang out together as a group. An outing this fall was to Bloomsbury Farm in Atkins.

“They do a lot of events just to try to keep everybody active and growing,” Kent said.

As part of Big Brothers Big Sisters’ focus on mentorship, it has a program called Big Futures that helps high school students like West and Henry set goals that help motivate them to graduate on time. For Henry, that has meant volunteering in the community, writing a resume and learning about different career paths. For West, his goals have included maintaining a 3.0 grade point average and developing his driving skills.

“It’s just another level of Big Brothers Big Sisters that helps us do even more,” Polly said.

To help West achieve his goal of improving his driving skills, Kent has him practice driving in the yard on his Gator, and they plan to practice more next summer.

The Mattisons also volunteer elsewhere in the community: Kent with Meals on Wheels and Toys for Tots and Polly through work doing things like ringing bells for the Salvation Army.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters program is designed to support youth from age 5 to young adulthood, although Kent and Polly have remained in contact with all of their Littles to this day.

“The best thing for me is how cool she is, not only to me but to my whole family. And she does things that she doesn’t have to do, and we are all very appreciative for,” Henry said, such as including her younger sister in their outings. “As I got older, I started to be more thankful for that.”

“I feel like if there is anything I can do, I want to help but also am wowed, and I’m sure I’ve learned more from her than she’s learned from me,” Polly said.