Dale Gray, 43, who runs an executive recruitment business and mentors the family's 7-year-old boy, has never met the parents and doesn't know why they are in jail.
"I don't ask. He doesn't talk to me about it - which is an interesting observation, because going into it, I thought I'd need to know. But when you get involved, it doesn't matter," he said.
"He has a no-strings-attached relationship with me. He's the centre of attention. He can express himself. He has a lot of fun with me, I see lots of his cheek and his humour and I see his confidence grow."
Mr Gray has two daughters of his own, aged 14 and 12, and volunteered because he saw a billboard seeking mentors for the programme run by a charity called Pillars - founded by a group of prisoners' partners who needed "pillars of strength".
"I've always had a social conscience. Sometimes you just need a catalyst to turn it on," Mr Gray explained.
Co-ordinator Georgina Langdon-Pole said a mentor was not meant to replace the absent parent and often stayed involved in a child's life even after the parent returned from jail.
"You are not like a family member. It's like a coach or a supportive adult or a friend, more of an equal relationship."
A recruiting stand is open until tomorrow on the ground floor of Telecom House, 167 Victoria St West, Auckland.
