Making a difference takes just a few hours a week
The Neighbourhood Bugel
For more than a decade Ken Storey has been a mentor with KidStart, a program run by Pacific Legal Education Assocation (PLEA), which matches mentors with troubled or at-risk children and teen ages six to 18.
Each Saturday afternoon, Ken, a Maple Ridge resident, travels to Coquitlam, and spends several hours with his young friend, but noted that since PLEA opened its Maple Ridge office, there are plenty of opportunities close to home for volunteers to mentor kids in the communities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
For him, volunteering with kids was something that he said he "kind of fell into."
"When I was younger I played sports and my dad coached me. When I was too old to play, I took over coaching a baseball team and helped a friend of mine coach a football team," said Ken.
He noted that in this day and age, opportunities to mentor one-on-one are difficult to come by without an agency to match you up with a youth. The volunteers in the KidStart program are screened, and undergo criminal record and background checks.
"That way the parents are assured they are getting quality people," said Ken, who was first matched with an 11-year-old boy in 1994.
"He's 21 now and we're still friends," he said, adding that his former match is currently living in England on a two-year working visa. "He turned into quite a people person from someone who used to hide in the shadows."
Ken pointed out that one of the perks for the boys in the program is that a benefactor pays for them to go to summer camp.
"There's a whole list of camps they can choose from," he said, noting that each summer a very generous fellow, whom he didn't name, donates the amount for the kids who want to go to summer camp.
Ken explained that one of the things he really likes about the KidStart program is that the kids in need of mentoring are fairly young, which, for the most part, means that they are more receptive to their mentors.
"The younger kids seem to be a little more exuberant about an opportunity for someone to take them places and talk to them," said Ken.
He noted that the requested time commitment for volunteers is just three hours a week, but he spends an average of six hours each Saturday with his young friend, who faces unique challenges due to fetal alcohol syndrome.
"I've tried to be available when he wants me. He really looks forward to it — the chance to get out and do things. It's still quite a battle for him, but he's come along quite nicely," said Ken.
Sometimes the pair just "hang out" and talk or play video games, while other times they can be found at the skateboard park, ice rink, swimming pool or movie theatre. PLEA sometimes provides passes to the ski hill, which is fun for both Ken and his match.
When Ken's company hosted a winter skating party at GM Place, he brought his buddy, who was just thrilled with the opportunity. Of course, it's not only the kids that enjoy the outings. As Ken, 48, put it, "It's an opportunity for me to do kid-type things and be young again."
One of the most exciting outings for the duo was the David Copperfield show.
"He was talking about that for quite sometime — it gives him a sense of pride at school when he can tell kids in his class that he gets to do these things," said Ken, but quickly pointed out that mentoring isn't about spending a bunch of money, but the quality time spent together.
"A big part of the volunteering is the kids getting to see how an adult reacts to certain situations, how they act with other people," said Ken. "There's an opportunity to teach kids through example."
He considers his role as a mentor to be more akin to a friend than a parent.
"They like having someone join them in their activities instead of telling them what to do all the time," said Ken. "I'm there to help him through situations."
"I've really enjoyed it," he added. "To see the young person you're matched with expand and grow because they've had someone stable to guide them — to see them grow into responsible, caring people that contribute to society, it??s a rewarding experience."
If you would like to make a difference in the life of a child or youth and have three hours a week to volunteer, call Tina Taylor, the local coordinator of volunteers and community development, at 604-476-9154.
Volunteers are currently being recruited to be matched with children and teenagers and Tina noted hat the demand for male volunteers is crucial and there are currently boys in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows on a waiting list.
