ONCE a week Andrea Callaghan heads off to her local high school but it’s not to hit the books or work in the canteen.
The 73-year-old from Sydney’s Northern Beaches is a volunteer mentor with the Raise Foundation and spends the morning supporting a teenage student.
Andrea is in her first year of mentoring having been introduced to Raise by neighbour Graham Whittaker, 76.
The Raise Foundation is an Australian charity that provides mentoring programs for high school students as well as young mothers.
Graham, who is volunteering for his second year, said he had learned a lot about the issues and challenges faced by today’s youth.
Last year he mentored a young man who started out very introverted but by the end of the program was much more confident and outgoing and was actively joining school groups.
The program takes place in school terms two and three.
Potential mentors undergo free TAFE accredited training and each mentoring program is managed by a qualified counsellor.
Raise operates in schools in five states and over the past nine years has reached out to almost 4500 students.
This year it has 100 mentors (300 returning and 800 new).
A mentoring session starts as a group meeting with a group leader, before mentors and mentees pair off to another part of the room (but always visible) to talk about issues, goals and strategies.
A program lasts for 22 weeks and when it finishes the mentor and student don’t see each other again.
No contact details are exchanged and no gifts.
“You are just giving of your time,” Andrea said.
To find out more about becoming a Raise mentor, call 0426-972-473 or visit www.raise.org.au
