The charity Big Buddy, which finds father figures for boys without dads, is proud to announce media personalities Jason Gunn and Roman Travers as its first ambassadors.

CEO Paul Burns is thrilled to have Jason and Roman on board at Big Buddy.

'We are absolutely delighted to welcome such fine role models, who care deeply about young people, and we look forward to our ongoing partnership," says Paul

Jason has long been a fan of Big Buddy's work.

"I love the simplicity of it, just spending time with people, taking the time to show up for a boy who may have not had this before," says Jason.

'The guys who put themselves forward for this are heroes and I know how much of a difference it can make for someone. I cherish the time that I spend with my boy Louie - kicking a ball together, just the simple things - that's why I was inspired to support Paul and the team at Big Buddy.

'I'm a storyteller - and the stories I hear from the Big Buddy community - the boys, the Big Buddies, the mums - about the difference it has made for them personally have really moved me.”

Big Buddy is all about encouraging confidence and resilience in the lives of boys without a father around. To achieve this, they recruit good guys from the community to spend time with boys aged between 7 and 14 years. Everything they do is designed to better the lives of boys whose dads are absent, by giving them a trusted Big Buddy to spend time with and look up to.

Roman Travers is also excited to come on board as an ambassador adding to his already rewarding role as a Big Buddy to Little Buddy Aidan, 12. The two have been paired for five years.

'It's important to me because I grew up in a family of seven children with no father on the scene. The power of a strong male role model has been demonstrated by many experts - it's something I never had growing up,” says Roman.

Roman and Aidan love spending regular time together and actually share a birthday, which was a real icebreaker.

'One of the biggest improvements I've noticed is that for a boy who was seven years old and remarkably shy to the point of finding it painful to talk with strangers… He is now much more vocal and willing to speak when asked a question particularly in a cafe setting where he needs to make his order known to waiting staff," says Roman.

Roman and Jason will team up for the first time hosting The Big Quiz, an online fundraiser via Vidzing on May 12, with celebrity appearances and prizes to be won. All proceeds will go to making a difference in the lives of young boys.

You can make a donation to join at vidzing.tv/big-buddy

Big Buddy say the safety and happiness of the boys is paramount. The Big Buddy team covers the greater Auckland region, Hamilton, Tauranga and the Wellington region, with future plans to reach all the boys around NZ. They have a long waiting list of boys in the Wellington region especially, so are currently looking for more Big Buddies in this area.

To sign up or find out more www.bigbuddy.org.nz/mentoring/become-a-mentor/