BECOME A MENTOR IN CAMPBELL RIVER AND THE COMOX VALLEY
Connect Weekly with a Young Person in your Community.
KidStart connects caring adults with children ages 6-12 who could use a consistent, positive person in their lives. Mentors spend around three hours a week doing recreational activities with their mentee. The commitment is a minimum of one year, though many matches continue into the teen years.
What mentoring actually looks like.
Mentors and mentees are matched based on similar hobbies and interests. You decide together what activities to do each week. Fishing, biking, playing board games, walking the dog, cooking, going to the beach, or doing arts and crafts are some of the possibilities. The goal is to provide opportunities for the mentee to experience success and build self-confidence through time spent together.
Email: kidstart@jhsni.bc.ca
Campbell River
Cell: 250.203.3111 (call or text)
Comox Valley
Cell: 250.898.4842 (call or text)
The Opportunity
Volunteer opportunity for adults Campbell River or the Comox Valley.
KidStart Mentor
Time commitment: 3 hours per week, minimum one year.
Training and support: Orientation before matching, ongoing support from your coordinator.
Screening: Thorough process including interviews, home visit, reference checks, and criminal record checks.
Matching: Paired with a child ages 6-12 based on shared interests and proximity.
Monthly allowance: $30 available to support activities.
Activities: Hiking, fishing, baking, doing crafts, swimming, walking the dog, playing board games, and more.
Location: Campbell River, Comox Valley.
Eligibility
Adults 19+.
People who have a stable routine and can keep a regular commitment.
People who have lived in Canada for more than one year.
People willing to complete criminal record checks and the full application process.
How To
Get Started
STEP 01
Learn About Mentoring
Before applying read our FAQs to know if becoming a KidStart mentor is the right fit for you.
STEP 02
Apply
Fill out your information on our online form and your local coordinator will contact you with next steps.
STEP 03
Screening
Interviews, a home visit, reference checks, and criminal record checks.
STEP 04
Get Matched & Ongoing support
We’ll pair you with a young person based on your shared interests, your experience, and their needs.Your KidStart coordinator stays involved to support you throughout the mentorship.
Resources & Downloads
Useful reading before you apply.
Become a Volunteer Mentor Brochure
About becoming a KidStart Mentor.
Volunteer Mentor Application
Fill out this form to be contacted by your local coordinator.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Becoming a KidStart Mentor in Campbell River & the Comox Valley.
Most volunteers report that spending time with their buddies is the highlight of their week. Many KidStart kids can hardly wait until their mentor arrives to pick them up. Key to the success of the program is connecting kids and mentors who have similar hobbies and interests.
We ask that volunteers commit for a minimum of a year, with hangouts with mentees happening about once a week for 2-3 hours at a time.
Mentors and mentees can do a lot together! Low cost and no cost activities are encouraged.
Arts and crafts, cooking projects, visiting museums, bowling, visiting the climbing gym, playing games, fishing, going on bike rides, walking on forest trails, swimming, visiting the beach, playing disc golf, and geocaching are all activities that our mentors and mentees like to do together.
Mentors and mentees are most often connected based on their similar activity interests and bring their own creativity in coming up with activity ideas.
There are some activities that are not allowed as part of KidStart, including: extreme sports, certain watersport activities, ATV and motorbike riding, and overnight activities such as camping. Mentors are provided with a more detailed list of unallowable activities.
It depends. Mentors receive a $30 monthly allowance to support the activities they do with their mentees. While some mentors choose to spend above this, it is not a requirement of the program. To help keep monthly activities within the $30 allowance we pre-purchase access to some activities such as bowling and the climbing gym. Program coordinators will also regularly share free or low-cost activities ideas through newsletters and emails and, when possible, provide free tickets to special events.
Most volunteers spend a little more time before and after their holidays on visits, and send postcards or keep in touch while they are away.
We are looking for mentors who are working, going to school, or retired. Having a stable routine is seen as positive, as it demonstrates you can keep a regular commitment. You also need to be over 19 years of age, and be willing to give permission for two criminal record checks and participate in each step of the mentor application process.
The first meeting that will take place is between the coordinator, mentor, and the parents/guardians. If the parents/guardians and the mentor agree they would like to move forward with the match, the coordinator will set up the first meeting between the mentor and the mentee. The coordinator, mentor, mentee, and the parents/guardians are all part of the first meeting between the mentee and the mentor. This first meeting is about an hour long and happens wherever the mentee and their family are most comfortable. During this meeting, the coordinator will help with introductions, and discuss the role of the mentors, scheduling, communication, activity ideas, and the rights of young people in KidStart. After this meeting, mentors will coordinate primarily with parents/guardians for their weekly hangouts.
This is something that gets covered in detail in the mentor training and orientation that happens before a mentor and mentee are matched.
KidStart provides young people with the opportunity to develop a supportive friendship with a caring, vetted adult in order to increase their resilience against life challenges they may be facing. Here’s a few ways our mentors do just that:
- Having fun together through activities in the community
- Being a role model
- Taking their time and having patience as the friendship develops
- Giving youth voice and choice in how time is spent together
- Being encouraging and expressing confidence in their mentees
- Being an active listener and asking questions (but not always requiring answers)
- Focusing on a mentee’s strengths
No, we understand that not everyone has a vehicle. Your program coordinator will work with you around making sure that taking public transportation or ensuring an accessible, regular meeting location is possible in your mentor/mentee match.
Mentors are matched with youth between the ages of 6 and 12. However, we continue to support mentors and mentees into the teen years.
Yes! Our program coordinators will work with you right from the beginning of the application process. After being accepted as a mentor and completing our orientation training, your coordinator will also provide ongoing support and supervision. This happens in the form of regular one-to-one communication, as well as group learning sessions and support meetings offered to all mentors.
At KidStart, the mentor-mentee relationships are all unique and open-ended. Some may last a few months, others last for many years, and with parent/guardian permission some may continue on outside of the formal KidStart program. If it ever feels like a relationship is coming to an end, our coordinators are there to provide guidance, including:
- Preparing to end the relationship – answering questions, explanations, discussion of what future contact may look like
- Reflecting on the relationship – looking back on the fun had together, sharing appreciations of each other, and talking about how everyone is feeling about the change in the mentor/mentee’s time together
- Planning a final outing or communicating through a card or letter
OUR IMPACT
“KidStart is life changing and part of ‘the village that raises a child’ for good outcomes in life.”
– KidStart Mentor