Mentor Up
Are you interested in giving back to your community but don’t know where to start? Mentor Up can connect you to volunteer opportunities that match your interests and availability.
Join the community-wide effort. Fill out our interest form today to mentor or volunteer.
WHY VOLUNTEER OR MENTOR?
Mentor Up is a community-wide initiative designed to connect interested volunteers to opportunities they are most passionate about to support nonprofit partners in carrying out their inspiring work across our region.
We can all agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has left our communities isolated and disconnected from one another. Volunteering matters now more than ever.
Food insecurity. Homelessness. Childcare. There are so many challenges facing our region.
Imagine what our community would look like if every person gave back a bit of their time every month. What issues matter most to you? How can you give back to the community that has supported you? Our team is here to connect you to opportunities offered by our community partners.
YOUR COMMUNITY NEEDS YOU.
Fill out the Mentor Up / Volunteer Interest Form
Receive Communication with Personalized Volunteer Recommendations
Connect with Organization and Complete Required Trainings
Start Giving Back to your Community!
CAN'T FIND OPPORTUNITIES YOU ARE LOOKING FOR?
LaunchNW is continually adding organizations to our list. Fill out our form, give us a call, or check out existing resources like Volunteer Spokane to get connected to other opportunities.
At Vanessa Behan, I volunteer with kids, and we spend time with kids who don’t have love and support. Just to be there and model what a healthy loving relationship could look like — especially for these kids — it is invaluable.
What fills my cup is helping and feeling like I’ve made a difference. I absolutely love working with smaller kids. It is always rewarding, even on those days where I’ve got 5 million things going on, I never regret going. Even if it is just an hour, it fills my cup.
Since COVID, Spokane and the greater area has such a strong need for volunteerism. Our numbers are very low, and all these causes need so much help. We need more people to show up.
Just the thought of being able to change one kid’s life just by one hour each week or even a month — even for someone that works full-time and has many other things going on — still has the ability to volunteer.
I always look forward to meeting with my student! Each week I get to do something a 10-year-old wants to do. It’s my mandatory play time.
OUR PARTNERS & VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Currently, Mentor Up is connecting volunteers to opportunities primarily in Spokane County, but we are working to expand our partnerships and collect volunteer needs region-wide.
Want to add your volunteering opportunity to our list? Contact us today.
Mpower Mentoring Program (Spokane County)
Mpower is a collaboration between 18 local organizations: nonprofits, school districts, colleges and universities. This program connects high school junior and seniors at 7 Spokane County high schools to mentors to support along the journey to post-high school. Mentors can be peers, college students and adults, focused to help students access resources, explore careers, and unlock holistics wraparound services to meet basic human needs.
We need more than 100 adult Mpower Mentors! Want to join a collaborative effort to support students in their journey to post-high school education? Become an Mpower Mentor and invest just two hours a month into the future of a local high school student.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Inland Northwest (Spokane County)
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a community based nonprofit organization focused on guiding youth to their fullest potential. Their one-to-one mentoring programs play a critical role shaping the lives of local youth. The relationships developed through mentoring positively impact a child for the rest of their life. All volunteer mentors are professionally screened, trained, matched, and supported by staff dedicated to fostering successful relationships. We have something for everyone who is interested in volunteering to become a mentor.
UDistrict Mentoring (Spokane County)
Being a mentor with us is fun, easy and rewarding! We can practically guarantee this will be the most rewarding volunteer experience ever! We’re a small organization that takes great care in making intentional matches of mentors and students. Without a waitlist of children, we can help you dial in the child you want to mentor. Athletic, musical, artistic? We can do that! And we have for over twelve years. All of our matches are drawn from an entire student body based on your location (work or home), interests and background! Our school partners are committed to helping us continue to make great matches with our new mentors. The commitment level is easy for even busy people. Two outings each month for two hours each outing.
Gonzaga University Center for Community Engagement (Spokane County)
For over 25 years, the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) at Gonzaga University has partnered with Spokane Public Schools to provide after-school mentoring and youth development programs. Primarily focused in Northeast Spokane, Gonzaga student mentors meet with youth on a weekly basis during the academic year. Gonzaga mentors provide social, emotional, and academic support to youth and partner with youth in exploring and imagining their futures. The Center for Community Engagement also offers a summer opportunities for middle and high school.
Coeur d’Alene Connects (Kootenai County)
People are most successful when they have the opportunity to explore their interests and skills early on in life. By partnering with K-12 educators in your community, you can help today’s students gain exposure to careers, develop employability skills, and build tomorrow’s talent pool. District partners will be paired with students based on careers that match your interests, skills, learning style, and abilities/capabilities using tools in Xello – our college and career preparedness software. Connect with students looking to learn more about your organization or industry, and support their career exploration efforts by sharing your experiences.
Coeur d’Alene Public Schools (Kootenai County)
We have many volunteer opportunities across our district and welcome community members to sign up. Volunteers work in cooperation with schools to help in meeting the needs of children and school staff. Opportunities include but are not limited to: Mentor/Tutor, Classroom Aide, Library Aide, Office Aide, and Chaperone.
Vanessa Behan (Spokane County)
Vanessa Behan improves the lives of children by providing immediate refuge and safety and ongoing family support in an environment of unconditional love. We provide immediate, short-term relief when there is concern that children may be injured or unsupervised due to a family crisis. We offer support and education to the parents. Our goal is to have positive, long-term impacts on parents’ relationships with their children.
Bite2Go, At The Core and Second Harvest (Eastern Washington and North Idaho)
The Bite2Go program believes that no child should go hungry. This unique partnership unites two Spokane-area nonprofits, Second Harvest and At The Core, and hundreds of generous community organizations and businesses to provide nearly 10,000 elementary, middle and high school students with food for the weekends. Many of these children would otherwise face chronic food shortages at home; without Bite2Go they would not get enough to eat.
Second Harvest has been leading the hunger-relief network in the region since 1971. Second Harvest distributes over 2 million pounds of free food each month to help people in need in 26 counties in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Partnerships with more than 250 neighborhood food banks and meal centers make it possible to feed 55,000 people each week.
CURRENT VOLUNTEER NEEDS: Volunteer Driver, Bite2Go Prep, Second Harvest Volunteer Center Food Sorters.
Catholic Charities Eastern Washington (Eastern Washington)
Catholic Charities Eastern Washington affirms the dignity of every person, partnering with parishes and the greater community to serve and advocate for those who are vulnerable, bringing stability and hope to people throughout Eastern Washington. We are called to serve through this mission and our core values of justice, collaboration, compassion and respect. Catholic Charities serves over 60,000 people a year through 15 programs in 50+ locations in Eastern Washington. Our programs provide food, shelter, clothing, education, counseling and support to those in need regardless of creed.
CURRENT VOLUNTEER NEEDS: The following programs are accepting volunteers Childbirth and Parenting Assistance (CAPA), Food for All, House of Charity, St. Margaret’s Shelter, Senior Services/Volunteer Chore Services, and Rising Strong. Some opportunities include Donation Organizing, Yard Work, Classroom Assistant, Community Building Activities and more.
DON'T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN?
Take 3 minutes to complete our Volunteer Interest Form, or call (509) 624-2606 to connect with our Mentor and Volunteer Manager, Darryl.