We recruit over 350 mentors every year to work with our young people. These mentors are all volunteers – we don’t have any paid mentors which keeps costs low.

ReachOut! mentors are usually students from local universities, but we have a growing number of professionals, volunteering on weekends and evenings, especially in London. We generally require our mentors to commit to volunteering for one academic year (September- June), although often mentors continue their involvement after their first 9 months.

Mentors build relationships with the young people at our projects, working with them weekly. They offer their support, encouragement, life experience and enthusiasm to the children and young people they work with, to help the children value themselves, learn, grow in confidence, form good habits and discover their talents.

Our mentors are role-models for the young people, not just in how they conduct themselves, but also in bringing higher/further education/training to the mentees as a real, worthwhile experience - raising the mentees’ aspirations as they introduce the young people to an array of different ideas and opportunities.

ReachOut! is wholly positive and solution-focused. We want to play our full part in ensuring that every child and young person we work with is healthy, safe, gets the most out of life, is prepared for adulthood, makes a positive contribution to the community/society and perhaps, despite economic disadvantage, achieves their maximum potential.