Man enough to mentor?

Helping boys become men

We're looking for both male and female mentors, but we currently have a shortage of male mentors. 85% of the children we support are boys – boys who would benefit hugely from having a positive male role model in their lives. To this end, we are constantly looking to recruit more male mentors.

"It's been great fun, rather than a struggle."

Click below to listen to one of our male mentors talk about how much he recommends becoming a mentor:

‘Lennox had just been excluded from school when I met him. He had trouble containing his temper when things didn’t go the way he wanted. I think just having someone to talk to helped him. Especially a man. I didn’t ask him questions. If he wanted to tell me something, he would.’ 
Michael, mentor

‘It was nice having a grown-up who I didn’t have to share with my sisters. I could talk to Michael about things. He’d give me good advice. Like not to fight. I really don’t know why I got into fights at school. They just didn’t like me there. It got me into trouble with my teachers and they would write to my mum. She says I’m happier now.’ 
Lennox, 10

Recruiting male mentors

In 2002, we launched Man Enough To Mentor? – a media campaign designed to reach men aged 25-35.The campaign helped to increase our percentage of male mentors from 8 to 25.

In 2005, we launched You Got Any Better Ideas? – a series of hard-hitting images of disaffected children that appeared on north London bus shelters and billboards, and on ad-bikes and match programmes at Arsenal and Tottenham football grounds. The campaign prompted 90 enquiries.

Currently we run all-male recruitment sessions during which we address the concerns some men have about working with young children, and explain how men can benefit personally from getting involved in mentoring.

Our efforts to attract more male volunteers are paying off. In 2001, six of our 75 mentors were men. In 2006/7, of the 208 volunteers trained to be mentors, 73 were men. Our next challenge is to get more men from black and minority ethnic communities involved in mentoring, to match the range of children on our books.

If you are interested in becoming a role model, please download our volunteer information brochure here or contact us at vol@chanceuk.com or on 020 7281 5858 ext 201.