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The Y Mentoring programme pairs trained volunteer mentors with young people aged 9-14.
Over 12 months, the mentors and young people work to build the young person’s resilience, empower them to lead fulfilling lives, and improve their overall mental health and well-being.
The initial 19-month ‘Y’s Girls’ pilot supported 270 young women match with adult mentors and received the Family & Youth Work Project of the Year award at the Youth Matters Awards 2022.
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Mentoring relationships across 10 YMCAs across the United Kingdom
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young people currently being mentored
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Benefact Trust exists to make a positive difference to people’s lives by funding, guiding and celebrating the work of churches and Christian charities; empowering the most vulnerable and giving people, communities and places a renewed opportunity to flourish.
The Y’s Girls mentoring programme matches girls and young women aged 9–14 years old with a trained volunteer mentor from their community. The mentor will spend up to two hours per week with the young person, doing fun activities that the young person is interested in.
Y’s Girls mentoring is entirely voluntary. The young person can opt-out at any time. Parents will be informed of any changes.
Your daughter’s details may have been passed to us by a local agency that feels they may benefit from having a mentor. This may be done via school or another agency your daughter has contact with. Your daughter may have self-referred to access the Y’s Girls mentoring programme.
The mentoring relationship lasts for around one year, but this can change depending on the young person’s circumstances.
All records of activities and information for monitoring and evaluation purposes are kept securely and are careful to uphold your confidentiality.
The mentor will come to your home to pick your daughter or the child you care for up. The mentor will inform you of their planned activity, the location and the estimated time of return. Mentors are encouraged to use public transport and only use their car to transport a child with your consent.
All mentors undergo mandatory safeguarding checks (PVG, DBS etc.) and have references undertaken before recruitment.
Mentors also receive specific training and ongoing support to help them choose activities that are both safe and fun, as well as adhering to YMCA policies and procedures.
The Project Coordinator receives regular reports about the activities to keep an overview, and our young people are regularly asked for their feedback.
Parent and carer views are fundamental to us. You will regularly have the opportunity to give your thoughts when the young person’s action plan is reviewed and at any agreed visits to your home.
You can also contact the Project Coordinator directly to raise any issues. We welcome any feedback to improve the service, and you can always email or contact us below.
You can contact us for an informal chat anytime. Fill in our quick contact us form below.