Local children’s charity, Befriend a Child, has launched an appeal to find new volunteer mentors as demand for their services grow.

Befriend a Child’s intandem mentoring programme offers support to young people aged 8 to 14 years old, who may be experiencing turbulent home lives and are lacking in a positive adult role model.

Through the support of a mentor these difficulties can be alleviated and allow the young person to have the chance to look forward to their future.

"We would love to hear from those who want to make a real difference to the life of a local young person to help build skills, nurture interests and share new experiences together" – Aleisha Douglas, intandem Mentoring Coordinator, Befriend a Child.

Volunteer mentors meet their young person weekly on a one-to-one basis to give them the support and attention they may not be getting at home. Befriend a Child are looking for kind, caring and reliable people to bring positivity into these young people’s lives across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

“I had already had so many professionals in my life at 14 and I thought that the mentoring would be the same as my experience with social work, that I would have a mentor for a few months and then they would move on. The fact that the mentoring has kept going through those years and is now an amazing friendship is great. I never had anyone stay in my life long term and I would like to continue the friendship with my mentor outside of this.” – Sophie, mentored child.

These meetings help with self-esteem, confidence and give young people experiences they may be unable to have otherwise. Over time they build a strong and supportive friendship which can have a transformational effect on both of them and their outlook on life.

"Being able to work with such a resilient, funny and outgoing young person has really been inspiring. Getting to watch him grow and gain confidence in himself has been incredible. I feel that I have definitely changed as a person since I started volunteering with Befriend a Child more than a year ago - my young person's outgoing attitude and confidence has had such a great effect on me personally. Volunteering is definitely the highlight of my week!" – Ellen, volunteer mentor

Befriend a Child provides all volunteers with full training and support, so volunteers don’t need to have any previous experiences working with children, they just ask for a minimum commitment of a year after training.

If you want to help a local child, make sure to get in touch by emailing [email protected] or visit www.befriendachild.org.uk to find out more.