Student Volunteer Spotlight: Yong Wei Tan

This week we checked in with one of our long standing mentors to find out what keeps him coming back to ReachOut. Yong has been volunteering since 2014 and has mentored at Shacklewell Primary, North Harringay Primary and Netley Primary in Camden. Yong is a fantastic mentor, enthusiastic and always keen to get involved...especially when it comes to dodgeball! Yong studies History at UCL and this year he was presented with the Jack Petchey Achievement Award for his commitment to ReachOut.  Here's what he had to say:

How and where did you find out about ReachOut?

I was first introduced to ReachOut at my university's Volunteering Fair in my first year. I had previously volunteered at a similar organization in Singapore, and was keen to continue helping in whatever capacity I could.

What motivated you to volunteer with ReachOut?

I've only managed to make it this far in life with the help and assistance of my teachers and mentors, and I thought that this would be my way of sharing my experience and giving back. ReachOut's emphasis on character development was something that I strongly believe in, and I felt that it would be a great chance to do my part, one kid at a time. 

What keeps you coming along?

Sometimes you feel like you're the mentee, because there's always something new to learn when you come for a session. I remember once when I had a bad day and I wasn't looking forward to ReachOut my mentee helped to cheer me up by sharing whatever little crisps he had with me. The attention and enthusiasm they give you makes you feel like you have to give them 100% as well, if not it's just not fair. It's also such a rewarding experience when you can track your mentee's growth throughout the sessions, and you feel like you've contributed towards changing their lives, even if it's by a little bit.

Is it a challenge to balance uni with volunteering? How do you do it? Is it worth it?

It's usually not a challenge, as the nature of ReachOut means that you'll be able to choose a session that is most suited to your timetable and commitments. Sometimes it gets a little rough when deadlines are looming, but you realise that 2 hours isn't that much of a big deal, and the time spent with these kids is going to be much more worthwhile than sitting in the library staring at your computer. It never feels like a chore, and I personally feel a very big sense of satisfaction and achievement when my mentee performs well during the session. 

Would you recommend volunteering with ReachOut to your friends or course mates? Why?

I would most definitely recommend ReachOut to my friends and course mates, because we are at the right age to serve as role models for the kids, and it never feels like a volunteering session when you're able to chat about football and joke about memes #feelsgoodman

Is there anything else about your experience with ReachOut that you’d like to share?

You don't just develop a close relationship with your mentee, but your fellow mentors as well. It's nice to have like-minded people that you can share a good joke with, or just play sports with. 

Thanks to Yong for his honest and inspiring insight into mentoring with ReachOut!

Volunteer Spotlight: Trista O'Sullivan

We caught up with one of our new volunteers to hear what she had to say about volunteering with ReachOut.  Trista O'Sullivan works for one of our fantastic corporate supporters, Barclays, and saw ReachOut advertised on their intranet. She has been mentoring Evan on the Year 8 boys project at Haggerston School since November 2016. 

How and where did you find out about ReachOut?

Barclays Intranet Volunteering site

What motivated you to volunteer with ReachOut?

I was looking specifically for a volunteering opportunity that involved mentoring kids or young adults.

What keeps you coming along?

It’s fun and the kids keep you entertained.  If they have a good week, do the work and are motivated then it can be really rewarding.  Other weeks can be challenging if they are distracted or not in the mood but I enjoy these weeks too as the reason I wanted to do this type of mentoring was to be put out of my comfort zone and learn and develop new skills.

Is it a challenge to balance work with volunteering? How do you do it? Is it worth it and why?

I have to leave at 5:15pm to make it on time.  It’s been fine so far and the majority of colleagues are supportive if you let them know the reason you need to leave.

Would you recommend volunteering with ReachOut to your friends or colleagues? 

Yes!  You get to develop additional skills you may not have exposure to during your day job, as well as seeing the kids develop and learn both behaviourally and academically.

ReachOut does the Santa Run!

‘Twas three weeks before Christmas, of that there’s no doubt,

9 mentors came together, to run for ReachOut

Running shoes on, red hat covering hair,

With thousands more Santa’s, good times we did share.

My mother told me that Santa didn’t exist. But on Sunday, December 4^th, 2016…she was proved wrong. On that brisk Sunday morning, thousands of people descended upon Victoria Park for London’s biggest Santa Run. Among those thousands of people, were nine courageous ReachOut mentors braving the cold to raise as much money as possible. 

Our 9 Santa’s left their reindeer behind and met at 10:00am at Victoria Park. After bonding over shared mentoring experiences and Santa outfits, there was a big stage warm up to get all the Santa’s limbered up ready to run either 5k or 10k. The warm up was absolutely brilliant, with a fitness instructor on stage guiding proceedings, while thousands of Santa’s imitated her moves. It was actually quite terrifying seeing thousands of Santa’s move in unison while shouting “Woop, Woop!”.

After the warm-up, the few thousand Santa’s lined up ready to start the run. If the warm up was terrifying, this was on another level. With the sound of the horn, Victoria Park became a sea of red and white Santa Clauses.

6 of our runners took part in the 5km run, while 3 took part in the 10km and all of them completed the run in great time! Especially considering they were all wearing Santa outfits! After the run, a few of the 5km runners were able to grab hot drinks and have a chat before heading off to enjoy the rest of their Sunday afternoons.

Not only do our mentors do extremely important work each week with their mentees, they also love to get involved in fundraising opportunities. Our 9 Santa’s managed to raise a fantastic £1,000! It was such a fun day, and a great experience for everyone involved and we look forward to being involved in it again in 2017.

Finally, on behalf of ReachOut, a huge thank you to Shanet, Emanuela, Hester, Qiao, Clemence, Josephine, Lizzy, Katherine and Julia who are all fantastic mentors and fundraisers!

They are now extremely busy getting ready for December 25^th…Good luck guys!

Young People Engage with the US Ambassador Day Before US Election!

This blog was written by former mentee and current mentor, Boma, who attended the event. Boma is currently volunteering at ReachOut both as a mentor and in our London office. 

The event at Bloomberg organised by ReachOut was truly a unique and amazing morning for the pupils at some of our partner schools. 200 students took hold of the amazing opportunity to meet Matthew Barzun, the current US Ambassador to the UK for a very informative and engaging Q and A session. Everyone attending had the opportunity to ask questions and say what they most loved and disliked about the superpower.

The most anticipated part of the morning for the pupils was rare chance to have a Q&A with US Ambassador, Matthew Barzun. Mr. Barzun gave a brief outline of what his job entailed but brilliantly left most of the session in the hands of the pupils who all had the opportunity to asks their questions about the global role of the United States. They also had the opportunity to voice their own opinions about what they most liked and disliked about the domestic and foreign policies of the United States, which led to a memorable discussion. 

It was clear this was a topic every pupil present was passionate about. Notable and contemporary topics that emerged included whether the United States should intervene in global affairs with consideration of the past and analysis of when such interventions have been positive or negative. Domestically, pupils were most passionate about the 2016 Presidential Election Candidates, Gun Laws and general differences in attitudes between Americans and British people. Mr. Barzun also helped us realise that our two nations have much more in common in present times than we may think and pupils indeed both contributed and took much valuable political knowledge away from the session. Mr. Barzun made his apolitical stance clear and let any political topics or views talked about come solely from the pupils, making it a very interesting, engaging and enjoyable event!

The Ambassador was introduced by Pete Blackwell, CEO of ReachOut, who gave an insightful and inspiring talk into the benefits of volunteering for both the mentors and the mentees. Starting out of an undergraduate volunteer himself whilst studying hard for a degree at Manchester, Pete explained the instrumental part he played starting up the London branch of ReachOut, previously only at Manchester. Pete made vivid the possible benefits effective social intervention could have for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds (99% of our ex-mentees who were on free school meals are now in employment or education compared to an 87% national average) and after showing how charitable work made his own life and that of other mentors more fulfilling, many pupils became interested in possibly volunteering themselves whilst at University!

The morning began with an inspirational introduction by Bloomberg's Philanthropy and Engagement manager, Caroline Rowley, showing how a good idea and hard work can make a company transform from a very small one to one of the most important and largest corporations in the world. Pupils were visibly enthralled and inspired by the fact that Bloomberg had grown from having just 4 employees in the early 1980s to a worldwide 19,000 in 2016. Pupils also learnt about possible future career options with Bloomberg for both graduates and school leavers. Pupils also left with knowledge of the commendable and large scale charitable exploits of Bloomberg as most of their initial knowledge of the company was mainly centered on Bloomberg’s journalism sector. They were also impressed by Bloomberg’s considerable donations to various charitable causes, such as making the world more environmentally friendly by encouraging the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

There was also an equally informative talk from Bloomberg’s Head of Security. We gained knowledge of the many dangers a large corporation such as Bloomberg can face from physical threats such as possible terrorist and political attacks on the building to attacks on valuable information such as Cyber Attacks and internal espionage. We gained some insight to the impressive countermeasures the hard working security team have taken to prevent such catastrophes from taking place. Bloomberg has been very successful in this respect and pupils were informed of the global disorganisation could result from a company as large as Bloomberg being affected by such events. 

Overall, it was an exciting and and enjoyable day which allowed attendees to learn about various different industries and global issues. 

Read more about this event on Bloombergs website:

https://www.bloomberg.com/philanthropy/blog/local-uk-students-discuss-world-affairs-us-ambassador-uk-bloomberg-london/?utm_source=mktgwebsite&utm_medium=diversityblog&utm_content=emea_apprenticeshipblog&utm_campaign=philanthropy

Hard work and ReachOut connections pay off for former mentee Tionne!

Two things we’re seriously proud of here at ReachOut are the fantastic achievements of the young people we work with and the long standing relationships we have with our corporate supporters. So when an opportunity arises for one of our young people to work with one of our corporate supporters we get very excited at ReachOut HQ – we’re like a proud parent!

This is exactly what happened for Tionne Tulloch-May last month.  Tionne first attended ReachOut at The Petchey Academy aged 12 and continued to attend weekly mentoring sessions until he was 16.  He is remembered by the ReachOut Academy Project Manager as a conscientious student who “used to do his work and always try to help the other boys”.  Once Tionne was too old to attend the ReachOut Academy himself he came back as a volunteer mentor and supported another young person from Hackney. Tionne has just left The Petchey Academy as one of their star pupils, achieving 14 A/A*s at GCSE and 5 A’S at A-Level!

Somehow this wasn’t enough for his first choice university and Tionne says “I no longer wanted to go to my second choice university so I assessed my other options and tried to find a job so that I remain productive on my gap year”. He got in touch with Peter Blackwell, the ReachOut CEO, who referred him to Bloomberg. Bloomberg were so impressed with Tionne’s CV they offered him an interview straight away and when he was offered the job he says he didn’t hesitate to accept.

“I felt relieved and after reading the job description, excited to learn about the role and meet my team! If it hadn't been for previous years at ReachOut and developing bonds and relationships, I wouldn't have known about the Bloomberg job and of course wouldn't be in the position I am now” he says.

Bloomberg has supported ReachOut since 2006. The global financial information and news leader has been part of our growth story, helping to support us as we moved from one school in Hackney to 19 schools across East and North London. Bloomberg's support has ranged from employees volunteering as mentors to hosting events at their impressive offices.

Tionne started at Bloomberg as a Data Analyst in September 2016 which involves collecting and analysing data that is given to Bloomberg from clients, including large corporations, wealthy individuals and governments. The role is varied and he says he is looking forward to working on an upcoming project that involves the Spanish market as it will hopefully give him the chance to practice his Spanish language skills!

The role at Bloomberg is a one year apprenticeship offered to school leavers by Bloomberg and Tionne believes it is the perfect role for him before university:  

“I definitely feel that this year of experience will put me ahead not only at university but also applying for future jobs. Once I finish my degree at university I will have both a good qualification as well as great experience from a world renowned and international company. The information I will gain may also apply to my degree and future jobs and I will have acclimatised to the working world in terms of hours and work expectations.”

We wish Tionne the best of luck in his new job and with his studies next year, as well as a huge thank you to Bloomberg who continue to support ReachOut and provide exciting opportunities for our young people to realise their potential.