The Empower Youth Network is looking for more volunteers for its youth mentoring program, which pairs adults with K-12 students in the Snoqualmie Valley School District and Riverview School District who need additional support.

Through the program, adult mentors are paired with students, who are identified by the school as needing additional emotional, social or academic support. Mentors spend up to an hour each week during the school year working with the student in a one-on-one environment.

“They’re not teachers or a parent, but they hang out, have fun and show that they care for these students,” said Heather Downing, the mentoring program manager.

Research has shown that students who feel better about themselves have healthier relationships, are more likely to perform well academically, and are less likely to miss days of school.

“The research really shows, for all of us, that if our social and emotional needs aren’t met, we won’t do well in other areas,” Downing said. “The idea is, the more caring adults in students’ lives, the greater the impact is, so students feel heard, cared for and valued.”

Although the number of volunteers in the mentoring program had shrunk at the start of the pandemic, it grew toward the end of last school year, and currently has around 85 volunteers across the 17 Valley schools. Still, this falls short of the program’s goal of having 150 to 200 volunteers, or about 10 to 15 per school.

Before being paired with a student, volunteers go through a screening process, background check and an interview, and must complete a 2.5-hour training session. Currently, the mentors at the Snoqualmie Valley School District are meeting with their matches virtually. Mentors in the Riverview School District are meeting in-person, but in outdoor spaces.

“We have a need throughout the Valley and it’s even greater in the lower Valley,” Downing said. “But we still need more help in the upper end.”

Now in its fifth year, the program has grown significantly since its inception. Starting with nine matches between two schools — Opstad and Carnation elementary schools — the program has grown to 17 schools and continues to have an impact on Valley youth.

“We have a lot of matches that form a good bond and spend year after year together,” Downing said. “We have quite a few matches that this is their fifth year together. That’s pretty exciting when a student moves into middle or high school and says ‘I still want to meet.’”

To learn more, visit empoweryouthnetwork.org.