Mentors
Your own experience from your working life could be in finance, HR, legal, support- it really doesn’t matter, so long as your commitment is to help understand young people and encourage them become a little but more confident and able to communicate with adults, due to your involvement.
Whether volunteering to support Early Years or High School aged students, the challenges are very similar. Their concentration is limited, their skills undeveloped and their willingness to learn can vary hugely depending on the day they have just had. Your dependable help and guidance is what will really make the difference for these students.
Although the programmes are STEM based, there is also a strong life-skills component woven in. Part of this is the ‘Best Self’ points that we introduce to students and ask mentors to encourage them to follow these on a weekly basis. They are:
- Be respectful to others and you will be respected
- A firm handshake will show confidence
- Eye contact will show honesty
- A please and thank you are simply polite
- Hats, caps and hoodies are for outside only
- If you are on time, you are probably late
- Always reply to texts with at least one whole sentence
- Tell us if you can’t make it
- Be kind
- Smile, laugh often and make it fun for everyone
For more information on how to become a mentor, please get in touch by emailing: gfgfoundationteam@gfgfoundation.com