ReachOut is a national mentoring and education charity working with young people to help them build their confidence and character. We run afterschool mentoring projects for young people aged 9-19, where young people are paired up with their own volunteer mentor and, each week, through 1:1 mentoring and fun group activities, they grow in character and confidence, sparking change in themselves and society. Our volunteer mentors are at the heart of ReachOut projects, they attend sessions at the same time each week and are part of a group of up to 16 mentors and 16 young people and support their mentees with a whole range of different activities, building a great relationship with them and helping them to reach their potential.

Our mentors volunteer once a week for 2 hours during term-time and make a real difference. We work in schools across London on weekday afternoons and there’s a project for everyone!

At ReachOut we’re looking for students to join us as a mentor, and we would love to have you on board!

We think volunteering is a great thing to do while studying, it’s a lot of fun, makes a real difference and can help with your professional development. We wanted to give you our top 5 reasons of why you should become a volunteer mentor with ReachOut this year!

Fun

Volunteering with ReachOut is really fun! Every session is completely different, you could be playing games like dodgeball or football, you could be building towers out of balloons or spaghetti and marshmallows, or you could be helping your mentees come up with Dragon’s Den business ideas. Our sessions are a lot of fun and spending 2 hours a week away from studying is a great way to help with managing the stress of University, we can guarantee that you will always come away from a ReachOut session smiling.  

Makes a difference

Volunteering with ReachOut is a great way to make a real difference to the lives of young people in your community. You will be working with the same young person every week for 18 weeks which means you will really be able to see the change within your mentee and recognize the impact you have made. You will see your mentee (and all of the other mentees in your group) becoming more confident and coming out of their shell and developing their Staying Power, Self-Control, Good Judgement and Fairness.

Careers development

Volunteering with ReachOut is also a great way to help with your professional development. By volunteering you will be able to develop a whole range of new skills, including communication, teamwork and organization, which you will be able to put to use while studying and throughout your career. You will also be able to add a high-quality and long-term volunteering opportunity to your CV which you can talk about in job applications and interviews.

ReachOut Futures

By volunteering with ReachOut you will also have access to our exclusive ReachOut Futures programme, which is a unique volunteering programme where student volunteers can access exclusive work placements, internships and workshops in return for volunteering just 2 hours a week. You can also apply for your very own career mentor who can help you with CV writing, job hunting and any element of your professional development. Over the last few years student volunteers have kickstarted their careers with work experience weeks at a law firm, internships with EDF renewables and a summer internship at a Private Equity firm.  

Open to anyone

Volunteering with ReachOut is open to anyone, you don’t need to have any experience working with young people – we’re simply looking for individuals who want to get involved and can commit to volunteering for 2 hours a week. We provide comprehensive training, cover travel expenses for journeys to and from sessions, and offer a rewarding experience, whether you’ve spent years volunteering or have never done anything like this before.

Here’s what some Westminster students said about why you should volunteer

“Participating in mentoring with ReachOut helps mentors to develop lots of skills. Firstly communication, as good communication helps to build good relationships with mentees. They also can develop their listening skills and help to spot the mentees’ strengths and encourage them to improve. Mentors can also develop their empathy to understand how their mentees feel”

“Volunteering with ReachOut was incredibly rewarding and I am very glad I chose it as my volunteering experience. Not only are you making a difference but it is something you can add to your CV especially if you want to work in this field or a similar one!” 

“One of the biggest benefits of mentoring is the positive feeling you get from helping out your local community in a way that you know will be truly beneficial to a young persons life. Being able to help these young people get access to resources and people that can help guide and mentor them in all aspects of their life is priceless, and the gratitude they show in the later sessions of the project is incredibly rewarding. You can also learn a lot from the mentees as they have a different outlook and perspective on life. Being able to build a strong rapport with your mentees and contribute meaningfully to their life and growth as a person is incredibly rewarding and I would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat.”  

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Big thanks to the ReachOut team for this blog!

If you want to gain some invaluable experience, develop your skills and make a real difference in your community then ReachOut is the perfect thing for you.At ReachOut we are currently looking for students to join us as mentors for the new academic year, and we would love to have you join us! To find out more you can visit our website (https://www.reachoutuk.org/) or contact our London volunteer team on volunteerlondon@reachoutuk.org