While there are indeed situations in which management inappropriately tries to replace paid workers with volunteers, this has never been the intent of the movement to renew citizens' commitment to their own communities. Mentor parents as well as children. All children deserve to get the attention of caring adults and that's why it is important to encourage everyone to make time for a child. But it doesn't make sense to focus on children without attending to the needs of their families. It is also patronizing to assume that parents who are poor or even drug-dependent do not care about their sons and daughters.
Mentors ought to broaden their focus to help mothers and fathers help their own children.
Everyone, of all ages, helping one another, would be the strongest model. Be willing to take risks. In all spheres of American life, we are becoming almost paranoid about the risk of lawsuits. Perhaps our fears are justified in this litigious society, but when it comes to volunteering, we must draw the line. Change always involves risk.