From as little as £10, generous individuals and businesses can make a real difference to young people in need through mentoring from Young Gloucestershire.
Young Gloucestershire's mentoring service provides an important early intervention, matching young people aged 10 to 16 with an adult mentor who can provide one-to-one, judgement-free support, based on individual needs.
If young people have experienced bullying at school or found themselves getting into trouble, a mentor can provide not only emotional support to help build their confidence and resilience, but also offer practical advice to inspire them to work out what they want for their future and go for it.
Mentors can also work with young people who are involved with the criminal justice system, or those who are seeking to reduce their use of drugs and alcohol, sharing unique and relevant insights from their own lives, to help them make different choices.
Bart, a Young Gloucestershire mentee who moved to England from Poland as a child, said: 'Working with Paul, my mentor, I’ve learnt to be more independent. I’ve learnt how to be more sociable, responding to people and communicating with them. It helped me communicate a little bit easier with people at college. I’ve been able to find friends with similar interests like computer science and general science.
'My mentor even helped me to do things like start cooking more. It’s been really fun, we’ve baked bread and cakes and this has allowed me to take more control of what I do. It has helped me build up confidence in stressful situations.
'Before I didn’t really have a plan... YG has helped me to become a lot more organised. I was actually able to make my own timetable during my free time and it sticks as a reminder to help organise myself. My room has also been a lot cleaner than it used to be! Now my plan is to do my A levels and then start looking for some apprenticeships.'
Bart's mentor Paul added: 'I definitely recommend Young Gloucestershire and mentoring, for how worthwhile it is. It’s something that you really get an awful lot back in return for doing. I think the work that’s done here is required so much, especially as there are so many young people out there that need help and guidance.'
Even a small donation can help Young Gloucestershire continue to provide this important service, with just £10 funding travel to two mentoring sessions for a young person in the county.
For those able to give more, £150 funds safeguarding training for five new volunteer mentors; £250 funds weekly mentoring sessions for a young person for six weeks; £500 funds those sessions for three months; and £1,000 funds a young person's weekly mentoring sessions for six months.
Anyone keen to contribute can make a one-off donation via Young Gloucestershire's JustGiving page at justgiving.com/charity/young-gloucestershire, while philanthropists wishing to make a major donation can find more information at youngglos.org.uk/get-involved/philanthropy.
Businesses wishing to support the charity can also get involved, with a corporate fundraising pack available to download from youngglos.org.uk/get-involved/corporate-support.
And for anyone who would like to donate their time instead, Young Gloucestershire is currently recruiting for mentors, too, offering people in the community who can make a long-term commitment of an hour a week an opportunity to make a real difference to a young person's life.
To express an interest in volunteering as a mentor, visit youngglos.org.uk/volunteer-with-yg.
