Volunteer Spotlight: Jake Flavell

As part of student volunteering week we are asking some of our volunteers to tell us about their experience with ReachOut. Jake has been a volunteer with ReachOut for three years. He has worked on all three of our Club, Academy and Junior Mentors programmes. He is currently a volunteer on The Barlow High School year 8 Academy project.

Why I began volunteering with ReachOut

Honestly, I had too much free time in my first year and felt like doing something worthwhile as I realised after leaving university the possibility of having a regular 9-to-5 would leave little time to pursue other ventures. I chose ReachOut because it seemed to be something with multiple benefits. It seemed like I would benefit the children I worked with, it would contribute and look impressive on my CV and would also benefit my interpersonal skills and improve me as a person.

What effect do I think I had on the young people while volunteering with ReachOut?

I would like to think I had a positive effect on the people I worked with. I noticed reactions from some when it was made clear to them that myself and other mentors were taking time out of their day to be there for free. They seemed to react positively to our very presence in that sense. 

I also felt a different perspective on the academic work was beneficial to their general academic abilities. For instance, little tricks and methods to do fractions or the mindset they should try to enter when trying to write persuasively. If they were having problems with academia, a different way of approaching the problem they hadn’t experienced in school really helped them understand.

How did ReachOut help me? How do I feel I developed while I volunteered with ReachOut and what skills did I gain? 

ReachOut has definitely made me a better communicator. Having to explain fractions to a 10 year old is a lot more difficult than it sounds and if you can do that, communicating on a professional level to an adult (which is invaluable in any business) will seem easy.

Has ReachOut changed my views or perspective on anything?

Yes. It has changed my perspective on education. It has made me recognise and appreciate the work teachers and carers do on a daily basis.​

ReachOut half term trips

At ReachOut London, we had a very busy half term.

On Monday, our year 7 boys went to Macquarie Group to learn to code with help from some of the staff there.

On Wednesday, girls and boys from the ReachOut Club at Redlands Primary School went to Portcullis House where they planned a policy to improve their school and presented it to the ‘Education Minister’. Afterwards, they went on a very exciting tour of the Houses of Parliament to see where their policy ideas might be debated and discussed if the Minister liked them!

Meanwhile, our Junior Mentors from Bishop Challoner School were at Macquarie where they had a working lunch and networking session with several Macquarie employees. Afterwards they learnt about trading using a highly valuable commodity….Jaffa Cakes!

On Thursday, the year 8 boys were at Barclays where they learnt presentation skills from some enthusiastic Barclays employees. On top of this the volunteers kindly gave all the boys goody bags and took the them on a tour of their offices – all the way up to the 30th floor for a panoramic view of London.

For the last day of half term, a few of the boys from our Junior Mentors project went to visit their mentors at work. They ran bake sales in their mentor’s offices to raise money for Meningitis Now, a charity doing research into the disease and providing support to those who have lost a loved one to Meningitis. The boys  baked carrot cake, shortbread and apple pie themselves and sold it to some lovely staff at Mediaocean and Galliard Health Communications.

We haven't been slouching around in Manchester either.

Last Wednesday, eight mentees from our  Post 16 and Junior Mentor Projects in Manchester went on an employment workshop to the Royal Bank of Scotland offices.
In the morning  our young people prepared short presentations about topics they were passionate about. Their performance was evaluated by the RBS staff who gave helpful advice on how to improve presentation skills for the future. 

Just before the midday break, one of the directors of the Manchester office gave us a brief talk on how to approach the world of employment as a young person. His contribution was particularly useful as he told us many details about his own career.

For the afternoon our hosts planned a "Dragons Den" style competition. Our young people were split into groups of four and had to prepare and present a business idea to a panel of senior RBS employees. They then selected the winning proposal and gave useful feedback to all competing teams.

Student Volunteering Week 2015

To kick start student volunteering week we thought we would begin with a blog about what volunteering can do for you and your local community.

Why volunteer anyway?

Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way. Investing your time in volunteering projects, like ReachOut's mentoring projects, will make a tangible change to the local community. This is why we are in the business; to make a positive impact on people's lives, to improve character and competence as set out in our mission statement, and to make accessible a wider range of opportunities to our young people. We could not do all this without the help of our dedicated volunteers.

What can volunteering do for you?

Anybody who has volunteered before will tell you that it is not just the service users that benefit from the process. Volunteering most often has a palpable positive effect on the volunteer themselves.

Volunteering can improve your well being

There is significant evidence that taking part in a volunteering project improves well being. The act of volunteering itself promotes mental and physical health through the stimulation that comes with leaving a familiar environment and your comfort zone to engage with a worthy cause. The social aspect of volunteering can act as a buffer to depression, and the achievement of volunteering gives volunteers a sense of self worth and the feeling that they are contributing to something positive.

Volunteering will improve your CV

We often hear back from ReachOut alumni how powerful a tool their volunteering experience has been in finding a job. With the job market being as competitive as it is, a great way to stand out form the crowd is to have a history of volunteering on there. Volunteering shows that you are motivated, committed and conscientious, and employers will actively look for this from potential employees.

Volunteering is a good means by which to learn new skills and personally develop

When you start your volunteering experience, you will be faced with new and unfamiliar tasks. To give an example, at ReachOut you might be asked to work with a young person from a completely different background to you and asked to find a way to relate to them and to help them to reach their goals. During tasks like this you will develop lasting interpersonal and listening skills that will stand you in good stead for the working world. 

All this week we will be updating the blog with volunteer accounts of their time at ReachOut so keep an eye out. 

Do you know someone you think would make a great ReachOut volunteer? Why not email them a link to this blog?

Apply to become a Mentor here

ReachOut Academy London Careers Talks

Myles Anya-Boateng is a mentee on one of our year 10 academy projects. Myles has written about some of the visits they have had at the project below.

Sanchez Watt

On Monday 8^th December 2014, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet a professional football player at the ReachOut Academy in London. The other mentees and I asked the Colchester United winger Sanchez Watt about his career as a professional footballer and life in general.

This was interesting, as he talked about how he became a professional footballer (what the mentees and I inspire to be.) He overcame many obstacles and difficulties to become where he is today. We were able to relate because he grew up in Hackney like us.

Sanchez Watt advised us to ‘always listen to your manager as they always have your best interest at heart’.

He also showed great staying power (a key ReachOut character value) an example of this was when he was injured for a long time; he had thoughts to quit football. However he persevered through the rough times to become where he is today. He is a real inspiration.

Michael Arthur

On Monday 22^nd December, I was lucky enough to meet Michael Arthur, an experienced chef at the ReachOut Academy in London.  Other mentees and I asked the professional chef about his career as a professional cook and life in general.

He told us what qualifications are needed to have a successful career as a cook as some of the boys in the group were interested in the career.

At around the age of 14 Michael started washing dishes, however now he has cooked for the famous Mick Jagger and others. He showed an amazing amount of staying power to pursue his dream of being a chef.

Lily Mercer

On Monday 2^nd February 2015, we were visited by a hackney raised radio host and interviewer, at the ReachOut Academy in London.  I took this opportunity to ask how she had become the person she is today.

This was interesting as she has interviewed some of my favourite rappers such as Stormzy, Kendrick Lamar, ASAP Rock and French Montana . She showed it does not matter where you come from, if you work hard enough, you are able to do anything you desire

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She was able to work with the UK's number one online youth broadcaster SBTV. Also she worked with the famous Jamal Edwards, the producer of SBTV, at such a young age. She felt it was a privilege to work for a company so big at the age of 24.

Lily Mercer quoted ‘it’s best to work at a low level with a high job role than a high level with a low job role’.

Lily Mercer also showed an enormous amount of staying power, to get where she is today. Many people wouldn’t think a girl from Hackney would get this far, however she has proven the doubters wrong. She is a great encouragement to me and other mentees.

Myles Anya-Boateng  (Year 10)