Mentor

The special thing about small town is the sense of community. We’re a grassroots project that is built and ran by people giving back through volunteering.

The most important part of our organization is our volunteer mentors.

These people spend a day on the ski hill or in a drift boat working with at-risk youth and sharing their passion for being outside. During the week they teach a curriculum on how to work through the issues that life can throw at you. It can be incredibly rewarding and incredibly tough.

But it usually changes everyone involved.

Winter 2009

Summer 2009

Workshop Summer 2009

Summer 2009

Gutter Ball!

A word with one of our mentors:
Who are you & what do you love about living in Montana?
I am Ryan Mitchell. I love Montana for the openness of its spaces and its people. You can just live here and do what you love without being judged or shunned. The outdoors here are so massive and humbling, it’s nice to be around that everyday. I love the fact that I can live in a rad house with my girlfriend and 2 goats and be 10 minutes from town and 10 minutes from Bridger.

How Would You Describe BYEP?
BYEP gives young people a chance to see this area for all its beauty and fun. So often, young people can get so caught up in everything and don’t get to just look around and take advantage of the things all us mentors can’t live without.

With so many volunteer choices in town, why did you select BYEP?
BYEP lets me be completely myself as a mentor. I get to learn a lot from the kids and hopefully teach them some of the useful things I have learned in my life. I don’t know of any other program that lets young adults and mentors just go out and have fun while pushing each other to be better people.

What Are Some of Your Favorite BYEP Memories?
Getting our entire group to ride up the tram together. Listening to the kids music in the suburbans, even thought I didn’t like it at all but laughing really hard with them. It was really amazing to see them progress with snowboarding and the confidence it gave them.

Has BYEP been a catalyst for change in your life?
BYEP has helped me to see life through the eyes of these awesome young people. It’s easy to forget how fresh and exciting the world is, so being reminded helps keep the world fresh..

How to Get Involved as a Mentor
There is a link to the mentor application at the top left of this page (under the video). Additional questions should be directed to our Program Director, Dave Granger at dave@byep.org