Helping young people feel safe, feel heard and feel hopeful for their future

How we help

Mentoring Plus supports young people in Bath & NE Somerset who are facing challenges. We help 5-25 year olds feel connected through award-winning mentoring schemes, youth clubs and inspiring activities programmes in our community.

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Volunteer mentoring

We recruit, train and support adult volunteers from all walks of life to mentor young people who need a positive role model, someone who will meet with them each week and create the space they need for change.

Professional mentoring

Young people with more complex challenges in school or at home can also benefit from 1-1 mentoring in our community from one of our experienced mentors

Student and Family Support

Our professionals support students to re-access mainstream education following exclusion, low attendance, managed moves and similar, with family support also offered

Activities and participation

We offer young people access to inspiring, supported group activities to build friendships and confidence – and our advocacy groups feed back on services, co-design events and build skills

Training

We offer mentor skills training to businesses and organisations, while our student peer mentor training programmes bring compassion and support into schools

Volunteer with us and change young lives

Are you seeking a fulfilling and flexible way to make a difference in your community? Join us as a volunteer mentor and transform the lives of young people in Bath & North East Somerset.

We train and support volunteer mentors and match them with a young person aged 7-25 years old who needs a positive role model - someone who will take them out each week, encourage them to explore their interests and try new activities and have lots of fun with them.

For a young person facing challenges, such as difficulties at school, or poor mental health, spending 1-2 hours a week with a kind and caring adult can make a world of difference.

Our next round of training will take place on Saturday 10 and 17 May 10am-4pm at our Riverside Youth Hub (BA1 6AE). We'd love to see you there!

Become a Volunteer Mentor Employee volunteering

News

We've been selected for the Co-op Local Community Fund and we need your help!

The Co-op Local Community Fund raises thousands of pounds for local causes every year. As a Co-op member, you can choose us as your community cause, and we'll receive a share of the funds raised.

The more members who select us, the more funding we’ll receive - it’s that simple!

11 Feb 2025

Fundraising

The Big Give - we did it!

The Big Give - we did it! Thank you so much!

In just one week in December, our Big Give Campaign ‘Safe, Heard and Hopeful’ raised an incredible £20,000 for our Volunteer Mentoring Programme!

A special thank you from our CEO, Ruth Keily:

"We are deeply moved by the support from our local community. This comes at a time when the need for our work has never been greater, and we’re truly grateful to everyone who donated. Your generosity means more young people struggling in school, at home or with mental wellbeing will immediately benefit from 1-1 mentoring, positive activities and family support.

On behalf of our trustees, staff and volunteers, a huge thank you to every individual, business, and group who donated or helped spread the word about our campaign. Special thanks to our longstanding supporter for being our Big Give Pledger, and to our Champion, ShareGift for making this possible."

13 Jan 2025

Fundraising

The Big Give - Safe, Heard and Hopeful

Help us unlock £10,000 for our Volunteer Mentoring Programme

📣 We're excited to announce our Big Give Christmas campaign, Safe, Heard and Hopeful, to help secure the future of our Volunteer Mentoring Programme.

From Tuesday 3 - 10 December, every donation you make will be doubled, thanks to The Big Give’s match-funding initiative. That means twice the impact for children and young people in Bath & North East Somerset.

Help us unlock our £10,000 match fund and reach our £20,000 goal — a milestone that would be truly transformative for our charity.

Mark your calendar, and join us in making a real difference this Christmas! 🎄💫

25 Nov 2024

Fundraising

What is it like to be a volunteer mentor?

Every week, our volunteer mentors are changing the lives of young people in Bath & North East Somerset. By being kind, listening, and spending just 1-2 hours a week having a bit of fun, our mentors help our young people feel safe, heard and hopeful for their future.

In our latest volunteer mentor interview, we explore what it’s like to get started and how weekly volunteering positively impacts the wellbeing of both our mentees and mentors.

05 Sep 2024

Volunteering

Inspiring young lives - a celebration of peer mentoring with Kingswood School (as featured in Bath Magazine)

Mentoring Plus has partnered with Kingswood School to create a Peer Mentoring Programme between older students at Kingswood and those from Years 6-8. The results have brought clear benefits for pupils and for the school community.

A collaboration between Kingswood School and local youth charity Mentoring Plus has led to the introduction of a Peer Mentoring Programme in the school. This helps young people of all ages and from different communities to connect and is so popular that it is consistently oversubscribed.

The project was launched in January 2022, following the disruption and isolation caused by the pandemic. The idea was to harness Mentoring Plus’ 25 years of experience training volunteer mentors and supporting young people, and equip Kingswood pupils with the skills to mentor their fellow students in Year 7 and 8, and Year 6 students of neighbouring primary school, St Andrew’s.

21 Aug 2024

Charity

The Big BaNES 100k - local charities launch new challenge for youth mental health

Walk, run, cycle, swim, skate, kayak or do it your way! This is the call from local youth charities, Mentoring Plus and Off The Record, and creators of The Bath 5k Map, who have teamed up to launch The Big BaNES 100k - a new nature-based fundraising challenge, to support young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.

The Big BaNES 100k launches on Friday 17 May and local residents can combine any number of activities to reach the 100k milestone. The challenge will run until Friday 27 September, and organisers are encouraging fundraisers to get out into the beautiful BaNES countryside and bring friends, family, colleagues and community groups with them.