The Whitefish CARE mentoring program seems to revolve around a simple thought: Sometimes it takes just one hour to make a difference in a child’s life.

Volunteer adult mentors who are part of the program meet with a student in the Whitefish School District for one hour per week. They might eat lunch or do an art project or homework, but the goal is to spend time together.

“It’s not necessarily a time to do school work,” Leslie Blair said. “It’s about taking time to talk with them. It’s about talking about what’s happening in their life.”

Blair is one of about 20 mentors who participate in the program.

“It’s about the time in between the activity when relationships form,” Joyce Murphy explained.

Murphy is directing the mentoring program this year after the district lost its CARE director this summer. She said she felt the program was too important to not continue and took over coordinating it.

Blair said spending time with her student made a friend of the student’s ask Blair to be her mentor, too. Blair started spending time with students together and separately,

There are usually more students in need of a mentor than are available. Murphy is hoping to find more volunteers for the program.

“It would be great to have 50 mentors or more,” she said. “There’s always a need for more than we have. I have a dream that every kid who needs a mentor would be able to get one.”

The program is holding an orientation for new mentors Tuesday, Oct. 9 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the district office at Whitefish Middle School.

Students are recommended to the program by teachers. After parent permission is given, school counselors pair students with the mentors — often looking for common interests they have or who will benefit the student the most.

Lynda Nelson mentored an elementary student who enjoyed art.

“I cleared it with her teacher and came in with paints and art projects that we could do together,” she said. “We did songs and read books together.”

She has brought lunch to her student.

“We ate outside and had a picnic,” she said. “Sometimes I’d take coffee for me and hot chocolate for her and we’d just chat. It’s about making them feel special.”

Some mentors, with parent permission, take students to activities outside of school hours. The mentors describe a strong relationship that forms with the students.

Murphy said taking the extra time for projects is great, but being a mentor is really about spending time with the child. She described one boy that enjoyed being outdoors, so he and his mentor would walk around the school for an hour and talk.

Nelson, a retired teacher, said the only requirement is being a good listener.

“You have to love enough to give one hour to a child,” she said. “They just need someone to talk to.”

The schedule for mentoring is somewhat flexible. Mentors can meet at lunch or a different time of day with their students and they are not required to meet every week.

Mentors must pass a background check, which is performed by the school district. Mentors begin working with students about a month after orientation and the program asks for a commitment through the end of the school year. For more information and to register for the orientation contact Murphy at 253-1188 or murphyj@wfps.k12.mt.us.