Raise youth mentoring changes lives and these transformations are powered by individuals from all walks and stages of life. One of these generous individuals is Robyn Hayes.
Following more than three decades working in qualitative research and coaching, most of that time owning and managing her own businesses, Robyn knows a thing or two about people and how to connect with them.
Robyn has volunteered at various stages in her life, particularly following relocations overseas. You get a sense when meeting her that Robyn is a person who can make things happen and likes to give back.
Broadening skills
In 2024 Robyn decided that she would like to add more to the coaching and mentoring area of her life. “I mentor adults in my professional life. It’s my area of expertise. My goal was to broaden that work. I like balance and decided the best path was to mentor at-risk youth – so that goal went on my vision board” says Robyn.
Robyn then saw an ad for Raise youth mentoring. “I spoke to a friend who partners with Raise and she told me how great they were. It was just the opportunity to support young people through volunteering that I was looking for.”
Expert training
What delighted Robyn most when she first started her training was just how well structured and rigorously evaluated the Raise program was. “I was really impressed by the depth and quality of the training” Robyn says.
Following completion of her eight online modules, then group training and qualifying as a Raise youth mentor, Robyn volunteered to join a program at her local school “Every touchpoint with Raise was a great experience, from the online training to the group session and the program itself. I enjoyed meeting the other mentors and also speaking with the school wellness team. From an organisational point of view, I knew I was dealing with people who knew what they were doing. Everything was very professional, it was all incredibly well evaluated and intentionally developed.”
Structured but flexible
While Raise youth mentoring programs follow an evidence-based curriculum, the areas to focus on are determined by the mentee, based on their individual needs. From a mentor perspective, Robyn found this a very supportive method of mentoring. “Having a book with a curriculum to follow was unexpected but wonderful because it provided structure, which was great.”
Building connections
Mentors also find that they build connections with other people in the program. It’s not uncommon for friendships to develop amongst mentors and it’s a great way to meet people in your area. As Robyn told us, “The other mentors were great too, some had been volunteering for six years, so even listening to them in the mentor support sessions helped me become a better mentor. This was my first experience mentoring a young person outside of family members. The whole experience was much easier than I expected. Brooke, our Program Counsellor (PC) was a big part of that” says Robyn.
Matching mentors with mentees is a mixture of art and science. As Robyn explains “we fill in questionnaires and after meeting as a group, are matched with our mentees. As the weeks went on, I realised just what a great match we were. My PC had observed that we seemed like a ‘relaxed’ fit who had some common ground, and that proved to be the case. I just loved speaking to my young person.”
Early intervention that works
As the program went on, Robyn observed just how valuable youth mentoring is as an early intervention strategy. “Young people need to be supported by people outside of their family and school. One thing my mentee and I worked on was taking a moment to breathe and relax. They were already so impressive, but between the start of the program and graduation their confidence grew so much, they even walked taller, with more confidence. Once we had built some trust together, change started happening. By the end, my mentee said they were interested in mentoring and believed they now had the skills to support other people. That’s the ripple effect” says Robyn.
Reflecting on the program Robyn says “I think mentoring works because you are providing someone just for that young person, with no agenda and no reason to be there other than to support them. It works because you’re objective and can offer a perspective the young person is more likely to be open to because it is all about them. The mentees also really responded to the fact that we were volunteering. Even though some of us worked, we’d turned up for them. It works because we give our time freely and listen.”
And it's not just the young people that benefit
The big surprise to Robyn was how much she got out of the experience “I coach high end sales people and am trained in the art of asking good questions. As a qualitative researcher I also know how to pitch my conversations, but through this program I really learnt the art of gentle questioning and gentle listening. My mentee also taught me that sometimes it’s best not to ask questions at all. Instead of offering people advice, I now ask– would you like me to give you some advice? I’m a more active listener. I learnt so much from the program, I’ve even incorporated this learning back into my own work practices. It’s definitely changed the way I coach other people. I look back at my career and realise that I would have been a much better leader if I’d done Raise mentoring earlier.”
When thinking about why there are young people out there who still don’t have a mentor, Robyn has some interesting observations. “I’ve spoken to a lot of friends and people have asked me about it. People don’t understand that it’s only one and a half to two hours a week and that you may be able to do it as part of your workplace volunteering or other CSR programs. If they can find a way to do it, they’d see the benefits to themselves and their work life” says Robyn.
You don’t need any particular background or skills to mentor, in fact successfully completing the training and obtaining the requisite safety checks is all that’s required. “There were all kinds of volunteers in my training and program. You can do it at any stage in life. There were other people in corporate roles and some really young people. The one thing we had in common was the desire to give back. I brought me so much joy to be able to have a positive impact in a young person’s life and I can see now that I would have benefitted personally if I’d mentored earlier. I’m going to keep going, I’ve already signed up to the same school for next year” Robyn says with enthusiasm.
