As 2024 draws to close, we take a look back on a busy 12 months on our Mentoring Programme. Over the year, our 38 mentors have each planned and participated in engaging, fortnightly sessions with their young person. An impressive total of 302 one-to-one mentoring sessions have taken place so far this year which equates to a minimum of 906 hours that our mentors have spent supporting young people, with still more sessions to come! A wonderful reflection of the hard work and dedication our volunteers have put into making a lasting impact on the lives of vulnerable young people across Wiltshire and Swindon.
In October, we said farewell to 19 young people who had finished their year-long mentoring relationships, and come to the end of their Youth Adventure Trust journey which started 3 years previously. We marked the occasion by bringing mentors, young people and YAT staff together for two celebration events. We played games, made pizzas and shared photos and stories of the young people’s incredible time with YAT. It was a special opportunity to reflect on the amazing progress these young people had made, show appreciation to mentors and young people alike for their commitment and to have some fun and laughter together!
Every year, young people come to the programme with their own unique circumstances, interests, needs and difficulties that can be explored and tackled through mentoring. Common to each young person though is the value they get from having the regular support of a volunteer mentor.
Sarah explains what mentoring has meant to her;
“You get to have someone you can talk to about life, but they don’t have any connections to your family or friends so it’s easier to talk to them in a way, they’re not biased and they don’t tell other people. More freedom of speech I guess”
Sarah, age 15
For Jamie, mentoring has helped him to build the interpersonal confidence and skills he was struggling with;
“Sally has helped me to talk to people more because my social skills have been dreadful throughout my life – I cannot get on with people. So having Sally around, who’s been willing to do stuff with me makes me more comfortable talking to other people and that means I get along with people much better now”
Jamie, age 16
And for Kyra, it has been a real boost for her self confidence;
“I got to try stuff and she helped me to believe in myself more. I think I lack in self-confidence a lot, but this last year it’s improved”
Kyra, age 15
At the end of the programme, a parent described the tangible impact of mentoring on his son’s progress both socially and academically;
“When we started, all I wanted was my son to have the ability to have interactions with other people and he was so quiet he couldn’t express himself in a lot of ways. Having moved from that position to where he’s helping other people, that was a great achievement and also academically, he was really slow, he’s moved really, really fast now, he’s jumped a lot of grades”
Young people (and mentors!) have participated in a whole range of different activities to facilitate their young person’s development over the year. From volunteering on a farm, martial arts, climbing and rifle shooting, to a lesson on a potter’s wheel and a trip to the theatre, mentoring pairs have found themselves having all kinds of new and interesting experiences. It has been inspiring to see young people’s motivation and enthusiasm as they embraced a range of opportunities, challenged themselves and achieved the goal they had set for themselves.
For the volunteer mentors, they have seen first hand the benefits mentoring has provided. Keith described what he felt his mentee Liam got out of their year together;
“Having opportunities to try new things, have new experiences, and to get out of the home environment, outside of school. Having someone to talk to, and someone in his corner. Having some time and space to be himself, and to be a 15 year old, without any responsibility or a need to think about anyone else. I’ve seen a huge change. He walks taller, speaks more confidently and is up for pushing himself. He now gets out and about more, and appears less afraid and worried about the world around him”
To support our new 2024 – 2025 intake to the Mentoring Programme we have welcomed ten brand new mentors who join our existing team of nine, who are amazingly volunteering for another year. It’s an exciting time as the new partnerships get underway with mentors and young people getting to know each other as they explore activities and begin to build a trusting bond. A big thank you to all our fantastic mentors and inspiring young people who, together, make the magic happen. We cannot wait to see what fantastic success stories come out of 2025!
