Volunteering Feature: Mentoring
A chance to use your experiences to lead to someone else’s success.
Last month we looked at befriending and the difference that friendship can make to people who have no one else to visit or talk to. This month’s topic is mentoring which takes things a step further than friendship. Mentoring is about giving someone a steer in the right direction rather than doing things for them. Through building relationship and trust mentoring can guide someone less experienced than yourself to make good decisions and to encourage them to stick with those decisions.
It takes a special kind of person to be a mentor – you will need good listening skills, the ability to empathise. Critically, you will also need some knowledge and experience in the kind of issues or learning that the person you are mentoring wants to address. You are developing a learning relationship with your mentee – it is not about quick fixes but more about helping someone to recognise their own potential to grow and succeed and to act upon it.
These roles tend to involve some in-depth training and can be very rewarding as you start to see the difference you are helping to make in someone else’s life.
"I have more self-belief about myself .. know that I am capable of being someone who can help someone and make a difference to someone’s life " CLI volunteer
We talked to Community Led Initiatives (CLI) - one of the charities that shares our office space at 43 Bromham Road about how they use peer mentoring to help individuals recovering from addiction, homelessness or who have experienced the criminal justice system.
They said:
“We know that mentoring relationships are a highly effective way to support people who are trying to achieve positive change and build a new life that looks different from their past.”
CLI told us a bit more about their volunteer mentors:
What do CLI volunteer mentors do?
Our CLI volunteer mentors work directly with our service users, providing practical one-to-one, weekly support, and constructive activities to help them build positive change in their lives, reconnect with their communities, and achieve their goals.
We work with a range of people from a range of backgrounds and experiences. Some may just need a gentle nudge in the right direction, whilst others may need a higher level of support. We match volunteers to their mentee based on experience and needs so volunteers will never feel out of their depth or unable to support their mentee’s needs.
What do I need to be a CLI volunteer mentor?
Our volunteers come from all walks of life, and we accept all volunteers that have something to offer those we support.
“I have learnt that my story isn’t something I should hide, but something I should share and be proud of. My experiences can lead to someone else’s success”
We welcome people from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, and actively encourage people with lived experience of offending, addiction, homelessness, or mental health issues to apply.
In addition to a positive attitude and non-judgemental approach, our volunteer mentors are outgoing, resilient and able to invest time, commitment and energy to help those we support to create lasting change in their lives.
What training and support does CLI provide?
All volunteers attend our highly regarded Volunteer Training Course - three days of interactive and informative training held in Milton Keynes. This is followed by a 121 discussion about working together and the opportunity to shadow an existing mentor before being matched to a potential mentee. Regular support from our CLI Volunteer Coordinators help ensure the mentoring and relationship is both effective and successful.
“I have more understanding on how addiction influences people’s behaviours and choices and I have learnt how to support my mentee better using the experiences shared by CLI staff”
Our volunteers are also supported to develop their skills too, often gaining the experience and new skills to help with their future plans. Many of our volunteers have gone on to join CLI as an employee or join other organisations in the criminal justice and addiction sector.
What commitment do we ask from our volunteers?
Volunteer mentors need to be able to offer a minimum of 2-4 hours a week to help their mentee set and achieve personal goals and positive change.
We work across Central Bedfordshire, Bedford Borough and Milton Keynes. As volunteers need to able to meet their mentee in person, we take your location into account when considering potential matches.
Take a look at the opportunities here.
To talk further about volunteering, or if you would like some help using our Simply Connect Platform, then please do get in touch.
tel: 01234 354366
