Our Unique Mentorship Model
AFK Youth Mentoring serves children in the 1st to 12th grades who have disabilities and special needs of all kinds. We carefully match each child with a qualified high school mentor who commits to mentoring a child for one to three years. Once a mentorship is formed, the pair meets on a weekly basis.
Our program is distinctive in that it pairs mentors and mentees from the same generation who live in the same neighborhoods. The two work together to find common ground and learn from each other in various ways. Both participants bring their own interests and abilities to the mentorship, and over time, many of the pairings grow into strong friendships.
How It Works
1. Matching Process
Matches between mentors and mentee "buddies" are made based on gender, driving distance, similar interests, personality, and any special requests from the child's parents.
2. Initial Meetings
Mentors and buddies first meet up at the buddy's home, where the pair can get to know each other in a comfortable setting. After at least two meetings, the match is finalized.
3. Consistent Friendship
With regular meetups, mentors and buddies find shared interests, try new things, and learn from each other while developing a meaningful connection.
4. Lasting Impact
Over time, buddies gain confidence by building a genuine friendship, while mentors develop character and leadership skills. This impact often lasts well beyond the program.
How Buddies Benefit
Children with special needs often face social isolation and limited opportunities for connection. A mentor helps our mentee “buddies” cope with these social challenges while serving as a dependable friend and positive role model. They are able to relate well to each other, with each having experienced similar situations, such as the challenges of fitting in at school. This invaluable sense of companionship often significantly enhances our buddies' outlook and quality of life.
98% of buddies showed improvement in the areas of friendship, happiness, social skills, and/or confidence.
How Mentors Benefit
Through an initial training session and monthly meetings, mentors receive guidance and support based on mentorship best practices. By mentoring a child, mentors develop leadership skills, character, and responsibility, while building relationships that impact both lives. The experience broadens their perspectives and helps them develop a deeper awareness of others' needs, while cultivating strong values that enable them to become tomorrow's leaders.
100% of graduating mentors said they will be more likely to serve and help others in the future.
Our Core Values
Youth First - Every decision we make is based on how it will affect the youth we serve. Attention to safety, growth, wellness, leadership, and learning necessary life skills is our focus.
Community - We build connections and collaborate with other partners to complement existing resources to accomplish more. We help strengthen our communities through education and engagement.
Relationships - We believe that having a compassionate and supportive relationship outside of the family has the power to restore hope in a child’s life. Many mentorships turn into friendships, which improve a child’s quality of life, happiness, confidence, and self-esteem.
Inclusion - We promote kindness and acceptance while celebrating, respecting, and including the rich diversity that makes up our AFK family.
Integrity - We conduct business in a way that is honest, transparent, and ethical so that we continuously earn our donors, stakeholders, and the public’s high regard. We hold ourselves accountable for being good stewards of the resources bequeathed to us.
Excellence - Our experienced, knowledgeable, and passionate staff are committed to providing the highest quality of service to the youth and families we serve.
Inclusion Statement
Athletes for Kids envisions a community where children of all abilities are celebrated. We strive to continually lead with our values of acceptance, friendship, and kindness, and with these values, we strengthen our community. We recognize that an inclusive and diverse work environment respects the unique characteristics, skills, and experiences of all our employees and board members. Our commitment to inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and identity makes our vision a reality.
Our History
Athletes for Kids began in 2001 when a young boy in Sammamish, WA, with a difficult medical condition was being teased, bullied, and ostracized by his peers because of it. The boy's mother and father believed that if their son could have one supportive relationship outside of family, it could turn the boy's life around.
The parents were introduced to a star local athlete, Simi Reynolds, from nearby Skyline High School in Sammamish, who agreed to spend time with their son each week as a mentor. That relationship became so life-changing for their son that Simi agreed to recruit a group of fellow athletes at Skyline to mentor other children with medical conditions, disabilities, and special needs of all kinds. In 2002, Athletes for Kids was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) and established the first mentor chapter made up of six athletes from Skyline High School.
Beginning with a small chapter of eight students in Sammamish, AFK has expanded over the years to serve children in the cities of Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Newcastle, North Bend, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, Snoqualmie, and Woodinville.
We now serve more than 400 youth annually and have served over 2,500 youth since our founding.
Become Part of Our Program
We are always looking for new mentors and buddies to join our program! Get involved through the buttons below.