Band of Superheroes
Fly?! No-one said they could fly. But they can help vulnerable young people rise above their anxieties. Super strength? Well, yes, sort of... They can’t lift skyscrapers, but they can help to lift young people when they are feeling down. X-ray vision? Although they can’t see through things, they can help young people to see things through. They are...
Worth Unlimited for Doncaster’s Incredible Eight mentors are helping youngsters between 5 and 18 increase their self-esteem and self-confidence. This leads to improved relationships and greater involvement in learning. Worth Unlimited is now in its seventh year of offering mentoring experiences to individuals and groups in Doncaster schools. So far, 18 primary and secondary schools have benefited from the offer. In the last two years, well over 300 young people received extended mentoring. Just six weeks into this new school year, 72 children and young people have joined mentoring programmes! Many are mentored one-to-one and encouraged to discover ways of dealing with the issues that they face. Some take part in group, self-esteem raising courses. Others are trained as peer mentors and Sixth Formers are trained as adult mentors to help support younger students as a service to their own school.
"Twenty-first century young people face many pressures at home, in school and beyond. Support from a calm, caring mentor at an early stage can build their self-esteem to levels where they are more able to cope with the demands of modern life and are far more likely to become positively involved in helping build strong resilient communities."
Branch Leader, Ken Foden
Worth Unlimited’s action works on a number of levels. Community volunteers are trained to support young people. Both the mentors and the people being mentored benefit. Some volunteers move on to employment as a result of their experience in working with young people. Numerous young people are built up by mentoring support and make a much-improved contribution to the communities they belong to. A volunteer who offers an hour per week can mentor two young people in that time. Just an hour of a person’s time can make a massive difference.
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Experienced mentor, Fran, works in both primary and secondary schools. She loves to see the "change in the students when they go from angry and against the world, to 'Yes, I like these good changes'." |  |
Carol, who does a day per week in primary schools, gets great satisfaction when she and the young people she mentors laugh together, "Which we do a lot.’ |
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New mentor, Emma, is looking forward to being part of the team and supporting and encouraging the health and well-being of young people. |
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Volunteer, Ian, who mentors 2 days per week in secondary schools, says, "Learning about the lives and situations of the young people I mentor helps me to support them with their issues". |
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The Incredible Eight are aiming to become the Even More Incredible Twenty-Eight! by recruiting more people who have an hour or two per week to mentor in schools. If you live in the Doncaster area and would like to find out more about volunteering for Worth Unlimited for Doncaster, please email Branch Leader Ken Foden (ken.foden@worthunlimited.co.uk).
If you have a heart for getting the best out of our young people but don’t have spare time, please pray for the work of Worth Unlimited. If you would like to make a donation, please use the Donate button above and if you shop online, you can nominate Worth Unlimited Doncaster as a supported charity through Easy Fundraising, so that the companies you buy from make a donation to Worth Unlimited at no cost to you.
