A lot has been going on behind the Urban Synergy scenes, and I must say, myself and the rest of the team are really excited! The team has made such fantastic progress with the intake of volunteer mentors; this week alone, we sent of another 20 CRB applications. The CRB process is the first vital step to enabling our inspiring volunteers work with young people on a one-to-one basis, for guidance and support. Needless to say, after England’s defeat by Germany, and of course exit from the World Cup, I am of course sad but proud to say we had a full house of committed volunteer mentors turn up last Sunday, hosted at Thomson Reuters. (I admit- we had the football showing in a break between the sessions!)
After the Mentor Catch-Up session, we then had a social event where we could get progress updates from active and aspiring mentors alike. This allowed the different types of mentors to exchange questions and ideas; the more experienced mentors were able to share valuable mentoring relationship experiences. A huge plus was the delicious food, at Chef Collin Brown Restaurant- it was almost like a Sunday dinner with all the family! So what’s next for the Urban Synergy events? We’ve lined up our new Academic Seminars, taking place in September, which aim to reach around 200 young people at a time. I’m sure these seminars will be very inspiring – can’t wait! (BTW we’re always interested in hearing from new high achieving graduates who want to take part – if you know someone who might fit the bill, get them to get in touch!)
With all this activity happening – I wonder if the new 1,000 Boris Johnson mentors, headed up by noted Youth Leader Ray Lewis, will contact Urban Synergy? I’ll guess we’ll just have to wait and see : o )
Until next time,
Leila, Founder & Programme Director
