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Action4Youth's Mentoring Pilot Makes a Lasting Impact in Milton Keynes

Who are Action4Youth and what do they do?

Action4Youth is a charity based in Buckinghamshire, dedicated to transforming the lives of young people for the better. They believe that every child deserves the opportunity to be heard, to be safe, and to succeed.

Action4Youth collaborates with other youth agencies, sharing resources and expertise to secure the best possible outcomes for young people and their communities throughout Bucks and the wider South East.

The charity delivers a wide range of services including holistic support for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people, employability and enrichment programs like The Inspiration Programme, and leadership and life skills initiatives. They also deliver national programmes such as the National Citizen Service and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

What support did Action4Youth need?

Action4Youth needed support to pilot a mentoring service for disadvantaged young people aged 11-17 in Milton Keynes. The goal was the provision of 12 mentoring sessions on average for 19 young people.

The aim of this mentoring was to provide a consistent weekly safe space to discuss their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Action4Youth wanted the young people and mentors to create personalised plans together to address specific areas such as emotional regulation, anxiety management, and social skills. They knew this support was crucial for young people struggling with issues like challenging behaviour, self-harm, anxiety, relationship worries, and low self-esteem, to help them feel heard and learn strategies to cope.

What difference did the grant make?

The £8,000 Community Grant was made possible thanks to the generosity of our fundholders, including local business Niftylift.

The funding made a positive difference in the lives of many young people in Milton Keynes by enabling Action4Youth to pilot their mentoring service.

The grant allowed these young people to create plans with their mentors and provided a supportive environment where they could open up, reflect, and learn strategies to cope with their challenges, and make positive choices for their futures.

Using the Outcomes Star framework, it was found that 100% of the young people who engaged in the project showed progress in at least one area of their life, with confidence and communication skills being the most improved. 67% of the participants reported improvements in at least two areas.

Young Participant, Age 14:

“I would say I found it really nice to be able to talk to someone without having to worry about getting judged and when talking to Holly she would always be super supportive with everything I had to say and would never judge without knowing the full story. There was a lot of trust there.”

How do we provide grants to charities?

Without our supporters, we simply couldn’t continue to provide grants to the hundreds of good causes across our city. Thanks to the generosity of local people, and their continued commitment to support us, we can keep sending funding where its needed most in Milton Keynes.

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About the author

MK Community Foundation