Working With Children and Youth

Our formal mentor programs engage with local elementary through high school aged youth in both one on one and group mentoring. Mentoring offers opportunities to play games and do activities, spend quality time together, and build valuable and lasting relationships. Mentor programs involve an application process and require a multi-year commitment.

Our non-mentor youth-based programs welcome students who want to participate once or commit to multiple months or years of involvement. Working with youth offers the opportunity to have fun, engage in the broader community, empower youth, and value being present with one another.

Spending quality time with a child, through any of our youth-based programs can make an impact on both your lives. We hope you get involved.

The mission and purpose of After School Games is to build healthy and constructive relationships with young students; inspire them to reach their goals and continue their education; and validate each youth as an individual. It is also our goal to be consistent role models whom the youth can rely on and trust within a school setting.

After School Games currently partners with Flynn Elementary School on a weekly basis to help create a safe and interactive environment for students to let loose and have fun after school through active play. Volunteers who are interested in After School Games are asked to have regular participation to help build positive, trusting relationships with the youth.

Student Leader Contacts: Eliza Goldsworthy ’26 (egoldsworthy@mail.smcvt.edu)

The mission and purpose of DREAM is to build communities of families and college students that support children from disadvantaged circumstances to recognize opportunities, make informed decisions, and realize their dreams.

Founded in 1999 by Dartmouth College students, DREAM is a non-profit mentoring program that pairs college students with children living in affordable housing developments in Vermont. DREAM stands for Directing through Recreation, Education, Adventure, and Mentoring.

We hope to form and develop genuine connections between students, children, parents, and the greater Burlington community. Through this relationship we seek to empower our mentees through the belief in the power of a loving and understanding committed relationship. DREAM facilitates activities such as arts and crafts, sports, apple picking, visits to the Saint Michael’s fire and rescue station and much, much more. We also have other events and field trips throughout the year.

Mentoring with DREAM requires an application and interview as well as a 4 year commitment to the program. Applications are available in September.

Student Leader Contacts: DREAM Franklin Square – Reagan Dufresne ’24 (rdufresne@mail.smcvt.edu); Cassidy McNamara ’25 (cmcnamara2@mail.smcvt.edu); Lilly Byrne ’25 (lbyrne2@mail.smcvt.edu); Izzy Stack ’25 (istack@mail.smcvt.edu)

It is the mission and purpose of Family Friends to provide support to COTS Family Shelters to provide support to COTS Family Shelter through facilitating activities for the children and forming positive connections with families while forming relationships with those we work with in a mutually beneficial way. Family Friends also hopes to bring a broader understanding of homelessness through education and awareness to the surrounding community.

Family Friends brings volunteers to COTS Family Shelter and offers other volunteer opportunities such as donation drives and fundraising. Volunteers engage in activities and provide companionship for children of many ages temporarily housed in the shelter with their families. We ask that students interested in this program make a commitment to participate in an ongoing way to assist in building strong relationships with the children.

Student Leader Contacts: Felicia Fil ’24 (ffil@mail.smcvt.edu); Yamuna Turco ’25 (yturco@mail.smcvt.edu); Theresa Carbonneau ’26 (tcarbonneau@mail.smcvt.edu); Kat Gleeson ’27 (kgleeson@mail.scmvt.edu)

The mission and purpose of International Outreach is to build and foster lasting relationships among the youth of refugee families and college students in the spirit of Saint Michael’s commitment for social justice and the preservation of human dignity through higher education and service.

Through the commitment and volunteerism of Saint Michael’s students, we work with a local school to provide mentoring relationships to young local refugees and provide opportunities for character and intellectual growth.

This MOVE program began by promoting integration between Saint Michael’s students and international students on campus. We now collaborate with the Winooski schools and have developed our program to include weekly one-on-one and group activities and fun with the mentees at SMC.

Mentoring with International Outreach requires an application and interview as well as a multi-year commitment to the program. Applications are available in September.

Student Leader Contacts: Olivia Francisco ‘ 25  (ofrancisco@mail.smcvt.edu); Annabelle Farrell ’25 (afarrell@mail.smcvt.edu)

The mission and purpose of Little Brother/Little Sister is for youth in the Winooski area to have an additional positive role model in their life. By matching Littles with a Big for three to four years, we hope that they will be able to build a strong relationship based on fun, trust, and reliability.

Little Brother/Little Sister (LBLS) is a collaborative mentoring program between the JFK Elementary School in Winooski and Saint Michael’s College. The children (littles) are first through third graders and are nominated by their parents, teachers or guidance counselors to participate in the program. Littles come to SMC for 3 hours each week to play in the gym, read in the library, play games, and eat in the cafeteria on a one-on-one basis or in small groups. We also have other events and some fieldtrips throughout the year.

Mentoring with Little Brother/Little Sister requires an application and interview as well as a 3-4 year commitment to the program. Applications are available in September.

Student Leader Contacts: Jenna Hitchen ’24 (jhitchen@mail.smcvt.edu); Tulasha Pradhan ’25 (tpradhan@mail.smcvt.edu); Emma Ziemba ’26 (eziemba@mail.smcvt.edu); Callie Boisvert ’27 (cboisvert2@mail.smcvt.edu)

The mission and purpose of Middle School Mentors (MSM) is to provide a positive and safe environment for middle school aged girls. MSM hopes to establish positive relationships between mentors and their mentees through both individual and group gatherings.

The Middle School Mentor program is a program in which volunteers build healthy relationships as mentors with middle school girls in neighboring Winooski, Vermont. Volunteers are role models to the girls and work one-on-one, as well as in groups, with them on a weekly basis. Activities include art projects, mini-golf trips, general games and special events through the year.

Middle School Mentors accepts female identified mentors for the program and requires a weekly commitment with the mentees. The relationships volunteers provide are greatly appreciated and their positive effect on the youth is clearly visible.

Mentoring with Middle School Mentors requires an application and interview as well as a multi-year commitment to the program. Applications are available in September.

Student Leader Contacts: Emily DuFour-Woznicki ’25 (edufourwozni@mail.smcvt.edu); Jillian Lesinski ’26 (jlesinksi@mail.smcvt.edu) Cassie Lathrope ‘ 26 (clathrope@mail.smcvt.edu)