On October 3^rd, 2018, Home Office presented the John Howard Society KidStart program with a donation that covered the cost of 7 kids in the mentoring program on northern Vancouver Island. The original goal was to cover the cost of 3 kids in the program, but we exceeded that goal during an 8-week fundraising campaign between Home Office employees, Broadstreet Properties/Seymour Pacific Developments, and the Mailman family.

Tara Jordan, KidStart Program Coordinator, announced that the program has never received such a large corporate donation through their KidStart Champions fundraising program. She couldn't express her gratitude enough; "it's like winning the lottery", she said. This is the first year that the program has broken even as it depends solely on donations and community support to operate. The program sets up vulnerable children aged 6 to 18 with mentors for a minimum of one year, with a 3-hour commitment per week. As the only youth mentoring service on the North Island, there are over 140 kids on the waitlist and it often takes years before they receive a match.

Tara was kind enough to share a few stories from her 12 years at KidStart. She recounted watching kids grow up to become confident, successful adults where they may have walked down the wrong path otherwise. One child learned how to fundraise in the community, overcoming his shyness, so that he and his buddy could go to a Mariner's game in Seattle. He got to meet the entire team, center stage! Tara said it has been a struggle to find funding and mentors over the years; nonetheless, KidStart makes an immense difference in the lives of the families involved.

There were a few local businesses who helped us reach and exceed our donation goal. We would like to send a BIG thank you to the following businesses:

Thank you, Tara, and everyone who came together to support this great community cause.

If you would like to find out more about the John Howard Society KidStart program, follow them on Facebook or go to their website.

KidStart Gold Champions