For almost 18 years, Jenny Pridham has been part of the Raise village, supporting young people as a mentor, fundraiser and member of the Ripples Giving Circle. In this heartfelt reflection, Jenny shares why becoming a grandmother has strengthened her belief in the importance of mentoring and creating meaningful connections for young people.
For one Raise Digital Mentor, finding the time to give back used to feel impossible. Then mentoring went online. Now, four mentees later, she has seen just how much difference one consistent hour a week can make.
New results from Raise Digital show how online mentoring helps teenagers build confidence, cope with challenges and feel less alone.
Loneliness isn’t just a personal issue. It’s a workplace issue. A recent article in The Conversation highlights that loneliness at work matters more than we think, linking it to lower job satisfaction, reduced performance and poorer mental health outcomes. When employees feel disconnected, the impact ripples beyond the individual to teams, culture and productivity. For organisations, this presents both a challenge and an extraordinary opportunity.
Loneliness is common yet misunderstood. You may think of it as being alone, not having many friends, or simply going through a quiet patch socially but according to Associate Professor Michelle Lim, CEO and Scientific Chair of Ending Loneliness Together, Australia’s peak body addressing loneliness, loneliness is far more complex than this.
What difference can one mentor make? For 15 young people, the answer is simple: everything.
Clinical Psychologist Melissa spent a few years considering ways she could volunteer, wanting to volunteer in something she could continue in her retirement was important. Melissa also wanted to build further connections with her community and continue those as her work life scaled down.
Keen volunteer mentor Abby joined Team Raise and boosted her impact. By running in the HBF Run for a Reason she raised enough to recruit, screen, train, and onboard a new mentor, whose work will help support young people during the critical early teen years, and build resilient communities.
For many families, the return to school is meant to bring structure, friendships and a sense of normality. But for a growing number of young people across Australia, going back to school feels overwhelming. Instead of excitement, it can bring anxiety, shutdowns, tears at the school gate, or a quiet refusal that’s hard to put into words. If this is happening in your home, you’re not doing anything wrong, and you’re not alone.
As a psychology student, Mia was looking for ways to extend her training and gain further experience ‘in the field’. In the process of upskilling herself she has also positively influenced the lives of numerous young people.
There are as many stories about the benefits of mentoring as there are mentors – each story is unique. For retired lawyer Robert, his decision to make a difference in the life of a young person set him on the path to a new occupation – education.
Teenage years can be tough - loneliness and disconnection, the impacts of bullying, lack of confidence, lack of engagement and lack of hope are observed in many young adolescents. Many more suffer in silence. After 10 years running early intervention Youth Mentoring Programs in schools throughout Queensland, Raise has proven that individual, evidence-based mentoring during the important early adolescent years, 13 – 16, can change young people’s paths and transform lives.