Become a Mentor: Care Fresno

Save to Favorites

In 1995, during Fresno's high-crime era, Care Fresno was started by the Fresno Police Department, in collaboration with church and faith-based leaders. Its goals have always been to address crime and poverty at its root in Fresno's most concentrated areas of poverty. Over the years, through wholistic ministry with faith leaders, we have been able to serve over 15,000 at-risk youth and their families living in over 60 high-crime apartment complexes.

While our goal remains the same, Care Fresno has entered a new era with a focus on Local Missions. Today, churches do not simply adopt a neighborhood, but we actually move Christian leaders into these communities and train them to serve their community with their whole lives.

Care Fresno currently works with youth in five high-crime, low-income neighborhoods. The mentorship program pairs leaders with students from each of these neighborhoods. The mentors commit to serving for 1 year, meeting with their mentee twice a month for four hours a month. Our three program focuses are education/career, personal development, and healthy relationships with the end goal of building indigenous leaders within the community. We hope our mentors are able to make a relationships for life.

Mentors commit to mentoring youth one-on-one for at least 4 hours a month, twice a month, for a year. They focus in three main areas which are education/career, personal development, and healthy relationships. Mentors work with the family and the mentorship coordinator to set up mentorship times that work best for them. Mentors are trained, vetted, and background checked. The goal is for our mentors to develop relationships for life with their mentees.


Seeking Female Volunteers: Yes

Seeking Male Volunteers: Yes

Minimum Match Commitment (in months): 12 months or longer

Type of Mentoring: One-to-One, Group

Youth Population Served: Academically At-Risk, Adjudicated/court involved, Foster, Residential or Kinship Care, Gang At-Risk, Gang involved, General Youth Population, Gifted/Talented/Academic Achiever, Homeless/Runaway, Incarcerated Parent, LGBTQ Youth, Low Income, Mental Health Issues, Opportunity Youth, Parent Involved in Military, Physical Disabilities/Special Care Needs, Pregnant/Parenting, Recent Immigrant/Refugee, School Drop-Out, Single-Parent Household, Special Education, Youth with Disabilities

Mentoring Program Goals: Career Exploration, Education/Academic Support, Friendship/Socialization, Healthy Behaviors

Ages of Youth Served: 8-10, 11-14, 15-18