Helping the Valley, one child at a time

CHELAN – To serve, empower and advocate for Lake Chelan Valley youth, that is the mission Thrive Chelan Valley is little by little accomplishing.

The 501 (c ) (3) non-profit organization started back in 2013 after Refuge, Bridges and the Teen Center all joined forces to help the youth.  

From there Thrive Chelan Valley was born.

Fast forward to today, Thrive runs three different programs that help students reach their full potential.

• Thrive Cares: Funds are allocated to support basic needs of kids allowing him/her to have the same opportunities as their peers.
• Thrive Mentoring: One-on-one mentoring connects youth with an adult or peer mentor and provides opportunities for the mentee to form positive, caring relationships, set goals, experience personal growth and access community resources which support their goals.
• Thrive Teen Center: This program provides safe and relaxing environment for teens in the greater Chelan Valley to have a warm meal, socialize, listen to music play games and more.

Three part-time staff members help run and organize Thrive.

New Executive Director Amy Davis, just joined Thrive. She will most likely be in charge of fundraising,  write up a newsletter  and will take on the different tasks the organization needs to get done.

Running the Teen Center every Friday and Saturday of the year is Travis Farrar.  He cooks the meals, hangs out with the kids and is in charge of opening the space in the Lake Chelan United Methodist Church for the kids to enjoy.

Mentor Program Coordinator Tori Carpenter is in charge of recruiting mentors and getting to know students in both Manson and Chelan schools. Carpenter also works with school counselors and plans events for the kids.  

Thrive Mentoring has only been around for a year and so has Carpenter. The idea of the mentoring program has been around for years, but it wasn’t until Carpenter came on board that it actually became a reality.

“I got hired and I got the real honor to work with the same group of people, to create, build and implement the program … so it has been a year and it has been a really great year,” said Carpenter.

The main way mentors are recruited is from word-of-mouth. For the most part community members are mentors. To become a mentor Carpenter said that, “there’s a process they have to go through before I match them with a student.”

The process involves filling out an application, proving a proof of driving insurance, interviewing with leadership team members, completing an online training course and passing a thorough background check.

Commitment is the only requirement  Carpenter needs from a  mentor. Thrive expects the mentors to spend hour or more hours a month with their student, complete initial and additional online training, attend monthly mentor gatherings and communicate.

“I look for someone who is positive and encouraging. Somebody who has been through rough times in life but has overcome them. Someone thriving and successful,” added Carpenter.

Carpenter said that the end goal of this program, “is about establishing trust, being there and building a relationship.”
Different activities are planned by Carpenter to help the mentor and mentee gain that first initial trust. At the moment the program has 16 Chelan students and 14 Manson students, along with 32 mentors.

This upcoming school year , Carpenter will match a student to a mentor at the beginning of the year and she will also incorporate eighth and ninth grades into the program more.

Even though this first year there was a lot of changes being done to the program, Carpenter has seen how much the students have grown. “We saw grades got better, school attended got better, students also got involved with extracurricular activities.”

Carpenter sees this program helping even more students. “I would love for every single freshman in the Valley to have a loving-caring mentor that stays with them through senior year,” she said.

To transform the lives of the Lake Chelan Valley youth and become a mentor contact Tori Carpenter at tori@thrivechelanvalley.com or (509)901-6155.