Bedford Giving Volunteer Mentor

Would you like FREE career development for you or your staff, while making a difference? Bedford Giving is looking for Volunteer Career Mentors to help raise the career aspirations of year 10 students in Bedford Borough.

It requires just an hour a month and mentors can gain invaluable leadership, confidence building and listening skills, plus you get to help a young person in the process.

Bedford Giving Director Paul Kellett (PK) said:

“It’s a win, win for both mentors and students. Our last cohort of mentors got so much out of it and 97 per cent said they learnt a lot about their own strengths in the process. It’s such a rewarding thing to do and it also looks great on your CV. You don’t have to be at the top of your profession, you could be starting out. Or you might be someone at the top of their game, who wants to share their knowledge and give something back by helping a young person find their way? Or you may want to provide a young person with the help you wished you’d had when you were younger?”

Bedford Giving is a collaboration of passionate funders, businesses and residents to help create a brighter future for young people in Bedford. A recent celebration event for the first cohort of the mentoring project featured some impactful feedback from both mentors and students. Mentees found it helped their confidence, ambition, develop skills for the workplace and helped them work out possible career choices and how they could get there.

Mentors were struck by how helping a young person and seeing them develop was a really worthwhile experience and helped their development. 

Mentor Suzanne Brydon, who runs her own coaching company, said:

“The past 12 months has been incredibly rewarding. Witnessing the progress and development of my mentee has filled me with immense pride. Watching the students across the entire project gain confidence and achieve, while overcoming obstacles has been a true privilege. “It’s been a joy to support, provide guidance and see them flourish, both academically and personally. The connections and progress we’ve witnessed, reaffirm the importance of mentorship and the positive impact it can have on students trying to navigate the world of a teenager.”

For further information about signing up as a mentor to help give a young person who needs a little inspiration, help and guidance to get on in life, visit www.bedfordgiving.org.uk/mentor.