COEUR d'ALENE — A few hours of tutoring and guidance each week can make a huge difference in a young person's life.

Canopy Village is seeking volunteer tutors, mentors, artists and cooks of all abilities to provide those precious hours of support during an afterschool program for youth ages 12-17 at the Canopy Village Family Support Center.

"There's a lot of change happening in our community," Canopy Village CEO Vanessa Moos said Jan. 20. "The need is growing and growing and we're struggling to keep up."

Canopy Village, formerly Children's Village, is a nonprofit children’s residential care and family support facility that offers respite and emergency shelter, residential treatment and family support for those in need. In 2024, Moos said Canopy helped 232 unique families in the community.

A pilot program was conducted last summer to help kids with life skills such as communication, coping techniques and how to be successful with schoolwork. Youth also participated in a weeklong leadership camp partially funded by the Avista Foundation.

"They're learning how to cook or sew, we had a gardening program," Moos said.

She said this was adopted on a small scale to see if it could be translated to at-risk youth. This intentional programming is for kids who might not have supervision throughout the day when school is out.

"It's not because parents don’t want to provide it," Moos said. "We see these parents are striving desperately to make ends meet, which leaves kiddos to fend for themselves more than the 'average' family would prefer.

"We're trying to lean in and support those families and keep those kids off the street," she said.

Launched last semester, the afterschool program takes place Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Canopy Village is hoping to find individuals who can help with homework, lead cooking classes and share their artistic talents.

Volunteers don't have to be experts in their fields. After light background checks, they will simply — and most importantly — be asked to consistently be there for kids who might not have many other constants in their lives.

"What you need to be is a steadfast partner to build the confidence these kids have," Moos said. "Two to three hours a week is all we're asking, and it doesn't have to be every week. We just want a solid group."

She said Canopy is grateful to the Coeur d'Alene School District for offering its employees paid tutoring opportunities at the Family Support Center, where the kids being served are students of the Coeur d'Alene School District. The district pays for the stipends through Title I grant funding.

Lakes Middle School library manager Lisa Rakes was one of the first to join the cause. Working with teachers and parents to set educational goals, she provides one-on-one half-hour tutoring sessions in all subjects for mostly middle school students who are missing work or struggle with reading and math. 

"I wish it was more time we had together," Rakes said. "It seems like we just get rolling and then our time is up and there's another kid who needs help."

She said many of the kids are those she sees during her workday at Lakes.

"It's kind of the same feeling as being a coach," she said. "You get to see them in a different environment and root for them outside of school."

A lot of these kids are living in hard times, Rakes said.

"Their lives aren’t super rosy and I feel for them. I have a heart for them," she said.

This program helps them to see they do have people on their side, someone to give them feedback and encouragement and someone else who cares about them, she said.

"It's just a drop in the bucket, but it matters," Rakes said. "Time invested in these kids matters. It matters to our community. I'd love to see more people volunteer."

Email Canopy Village's Director of Family Support Services Mary Anderson at [email protected] for details.

Canopy Village is also hosting its inaugural Family Support Stroll Virtual 10K to benefit the Family Support Center. Participants are encouraged to snowshoe, hike, ski, snowboard or walk on a treadmill 6.2 virtual miles by Valentine's Day.

By Monday evening $2,424.37 of the $10,000 goal had been raised. Visit thechildrensvillage.org for info.

    From left, Baylee Gonzalez, 12, Cadance Callahan, 15, Denaya Dodson, 12, and Aiden Gately, 12, participate in a dance routine during a fall 2024 afterschool program at the Canopy Village Family Support Center.