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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.

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.

Before volunteering with Mentoring Plus, I volunteered with young people from challenging backgrounds when I lived abroad. I grew up on a tough estate, and I wanted to give something back. It was really fulfilling and rewarding. Then, as a parent, I feel like an element of parenting is mentoring, and when you’ve gone through the cycle with your own children, I thought why stop there, when you can help others? 

So, when I saw a Mentoring Plus advert in Boston Tea Party calling for volunteers, I thought what the heck, I’ll give it a go.

We know that 1-2 hours a week with a Volunteer Mentor can be life-changing for a young person having a tough time. Having the undivided attention of a kind, empathetic adult who has chosen to spend time with them can make all the difference to a young person’s happiness and well-being. 

But what is it like to be a Volunteer Mentor? What’s involved? How does it impact our volunteers?

In this interview, one of our lovely Volunteer Mentors shines a light on their experience.

At Mentoring Plus, we believe in the transformative power of art to inspire, heal, and empower young minds. We are launching this campaign which will help fund sessions to provide safe, accessible, and creative spaces for young people to access and be supported by experienced art practitioners and youth workers.

We are delighted to announce that we have been chosen as Bath Building Society's Charity of the Year. 

Bath Building Society Colleagues were asked to nominate a charity close to their heart, who they believe do great work in the local community and would like to see the Society partner with as our Charity of the Year. Colleagues and Members voted for a shortlist of three amazing local charities and the winner was Mentoring Plus.

We are opening for applications to refer young people in BathNES aged 11-25 (year 7 and above) for volunteer mentoring on Tuesday 10th October at 10.00am until Tuesday 17th October at 12.00pm.

Children and young people are facing challenges that didn’t even exist 25 years ago. Be under no illusion: needs are sky high. We need far better understanding of educational needs, sensory processing difficulties and existential anxieties this generation are coping with. And far more resources to support them, in our service, in others and most of all in schools, trying their best in tough circumstances.

This year we are celebrating 25 years of inspiring young lives and supporting young people. Last week Wera Hobhouse came to visit us at our youth hub, she shared insightful disscussions with Ruth, our CEO and Becki, the Community Manager.

John who has volunteered for Mentoring Plus over the last 10 years has been recognised as 'Volunteer of the Year' at the recent BANES Community Awards.