What started as a small, grassroots effort in 1973 to match adults with kids in mentoring relationships, has become one of the largest youth serving organizations in the Roaring Fork Valley. In 1973, a therapist at the community mental health center recognized that many of his clients were single mothers. Having been a Big Brother in college, he started providing mentors for boys and girls in the community. In 1991 the Buddy Program was incorporated as a 501(c )3 and in 1994 the organization expanded to include the communities of Basalt and El Jebel. In 2005 the organization started School-based Programming with adult volunteers and the Peer-to-Peer Program involving high school volunteers as mentors. In 2010 we incorporated our outdoor, experiential, group mentoring programs known as the LEAD (Leadership through Exploration Action and Discovery) Program. Also, in 2010 the Buddy Program started serving youth in Carbondale and in 2015 we moved our mid-valley office from Basalt to Carbondale to establish a more defined presence in that community. In 2023 we expanded our services to Glenwood Springs! 38 youth in Glenwood Springs participated in the Buddy Program in this inaugural year, and that number will grow steadily in 2024 as we continue to ramp up our programs.
Over the years the organization has expanded to add to the mentoring experiences we provide youth. Today we offer professional case management, free activities for Buddy Pairs throughout the year, extracurricular activity scholarships for youth, therapeutic counseling and other services. Program evaluations demonstrate that the Buddy Program has helped our Little Buddies in areas of self-esteem, decision-making, academics and relationships with friends and family. In 2023 the Buddy Program worked with 466 youth, 122 adult Big Buddies, and 16 schools from Aspen to Glenwood Springs and Rifle through our 4 mentoring programs. The Buddy Program is a registered 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
