Mother Mentors of Whidbey Island seeks more volunteers as demand rises

Mother Mentors of Whidbey Island is seeing about a 10% increase in families seeking help each month, and demand for its family support work has grown more than tenfold over the past year. The nonprofit has asked for more volunteers. On an island where relatives often live off-island and child care can be stretched thin, the group is seeing more parents who need a steady hand at home.

The nonprofit pairs trained volunteers one-on-one with parents and caregivers of children ages 0 to 5 for weekly in-home support that lasts at least six months. That help can be as ordinary, and as important, as reading to a toddler, helping prep dinner or giving a parent a few minutes to shower while another room is still full of crying. The program is open to mothers, fathers and families of all shapes and sizes, and it also runs a Parent Pantry with free diapers, formula, breast pumps and gently used infant and toddler clothing.

Program director Tasha Miller said the demand has risen alongside the group’s recent expansion. Mother Mentors has also widened its reach beyond one site, with Playscape locations in Langley and Oak Harbor, a second parent pantry in Oak Harbor, and a larger staff than it had before the pandemic. Miller has also been on the receiving end of the program herself.

The group’s roots go back to 2009, when it began as an idea from a group of mothers and grandmothers. It became a formal nonprofit in 2012. Jane Bothel is executive director and has served with Mother Mentors since 2014 as a board member, mentor and Playscape volunteer. The organization also faced broader strain in 2025, when it dealt with an unexpected $60,000 funding gap and a 26% loss of annual budget support.

Mother Mentors needs volunteers who can complete training and background checks and commit about two hours once a week for six months to a year. Interested residents can contact the group at P.O. Box 92, Langley, WA 98260, or by calling (360) 321-1484.