Intergenerational Mentoring Network is a growing project that draws on the experience of volunteer mentors to support young people who are hoping to go to university. These young people may be from lower-income backgrounds or may be the first in their families to think about entering higher education.

Often this means they do not have access to the necessary knowledge and advice in order to realise this aspiration. At the heart of the mentoring relationship is a regular – usually weekly – face-to-face meeting during S5 and S6.

We encourage our mentors to develop meaningful relationships with their mentees – to offer not only practical support but also understanding, encouragement and a friendly ear.

A key dimension of the project has been to recruit older adults and particularly retirees who have time to commit to weekly or fortnightly meetings. The intergenerational focus of our mentoring project makes it unique to other mentoring projects in the area.

Our project urgently needs to recruit mentors to support pupils at Alloa Academy as they envisage and plan their futures.

Expanding our scope, the project now works with younger children and has a developed a primary school- based project again drawing on intergenerational mentoring. ‘Help a Child Learn to Read’ provides training and support to help volunteers to build stable relationships with their mentees, share their experiences and enjoy conversations around reading.

We are recruiting mentors to work with pupils in Deerpark Primary School in Sauchie.

Visit our website to watch a short film for an introduction to our project and apply to become a volunteer: www.intergenerationalmentoring.com