ReachOut visits the Shoosmiths London office

On February 28 2018, ReachOut had the opportunity to present to Shoosmiths employees to let them know a little bit more about the work ReachOut does and how they, as Shoosmiths employees, could get involved.

Matt Harper, ReachOut Fundraisng Officer takes up the story.

‘The presentation involved an introduction to ReachOut, an overview of the work we do, the benefits of mentoring and other ways for people to engage with ReachOut.

When we think about mentoring we automatically think about the benefits for the mentee:

• improving their behavior;
• increasing their engagement at school;
• improving their academic attainment and;
• the long term, positive impact it has on their education and career path

But research has shown that mentoring has a long term, positive impact the mentor as well. So what are these benefits?

1) It makes you happy – It makes you feel good. ‘Helpers High’ – positive emotional state after helping others. Volunteering increases your self-confidence and by doing something good for others it provides a sense of purpose. It counteracts the effects of stress, anxiety and anger – basically the more we help others, the happier we feel!

2) It develops your business skills. Time management, communication, team work, persuasion, listening skills – mentoring a young person will challenge you to be better in all of these areas and these are transferable skills that will help you in a professional environment no matter what job you are in.

Quote from a current mentor – ‘The benefits of mentoring have been invaluable to me.. It really challenges you to adapt to diverse individuals, something which correlates directly into the professional work space’

3) Boosts your CV – a history of volunteering demonstrates your commitment and willingness to work for the betterment of others. It shows you have a positive mindset and demonstrates leadership qualities by showing you have gone above and beyond to develop leadership skills. It also demonstrates that you are willing to share your skills and knowledge to help someone else develop which will always be looked upon favourably by your employer.

4) Expands your network – dedicating your time as a volunteer helps you make new friends and connections, and boosts your social skills. We have a growing number of people mentoring with us from different organisations and companies across the city so mentoring with ReachOut offers a weekly opportunity to make new contacts.

5) Positive impact on society – Volunteering allows you to connect to your local community and will give you the opportunity to make a real difference to a young persons life. It can give you a sense of pride and identity, and the satisfaction of having given back to society in a meaningful and positive way.

The team at Shoosmiths were extremely welcoming and engaged throughout and they were extremely supportive of the work ReachOut do. We even got the team Shoosmiths to go through an interactive exercise where they shared their experience of either being a mentor or having a mentor and the importance of that experience. We’re hoping that we will be able to get more Shoosmiths mentors on our projects in our projects commencing in October 2018!

Since ReachOut was chosen as Shoosmiths Charity of the Year, the company has raised over £3,000 – an absolutely phenomenal effort. Not only that, the opportunity to come in and do a lunch and learn as well as using office space for our mentor training has been extremely valuable for ReachOut.

Thank you so much for having us in and we look forward to visiting the team at Shoosmiths soon!