A CHILDREN’S charity is looking to recruit a volunteer mentor from the Lydney area to support a young girl once a week over the summer term and the new academic term.

Mentor Link is a charity which has been going for over 23 years, supporting vulnerable and distressed children and young people in school who are facing social, emotional and domestic issues.

Mentors are independent who come into school weekly for around half an hour to an hour, providing the child listening and therapeutic support, to help them feel better about themselves and better about coming to school.

Andrea Maddocks, CEO of Mentor Link said: “We’re looking for somebody who can commit for six months, who can come into school and provide an adult role model, someone who is patient, someone who is a good listener - and someone who has life experience, who feels they’d like to give something back to the children.”

The process to become a mentor involves initial contact with Mentor Link, and if the prospective mentor is happy to proceed, Mentor Link will set up an appointment with one of its recruiters. The recruiters conduct an interview with the applicant, and if successful, the applicant will be put onto the induction process.

This process involves an enhanced DBS clearance and two character references. If these are cleared, the prospective mentor gets placed onto induction training, supported by a person who is a mentor and retired Headteacher.

A spokesperson for Mentor Link added: “For a vulnerable child to have an adult who provides a listening ear, having someone impartial to share their thoughts and feelings with is invaluable.”

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a mentor, you can contact Mentor Link via telephone on 01299 822336, or email [email protected]