Aimee runs her own business promoting brands through tv and film. It’s a busy, high pressured role but Aimee has still found time to become a volunteer mentor with the Surrey Care Trust and give back to her community.
“Some of my friends are volunteers and I wanted to do something useful with my time too. I wanted to volunteer for a small charity where I felt I could really make a difference but I didn’t know what I could do. Then I happened to watch a really inspirational movie about a teacher mentoring a child and that’s when I realised how I could help someone, so I got in touch with the Trust.
“Unlike other charities I contacted, I felt that the Surrey Care Trust offered a more flexible approach to volunteering which would suit my work and time commitments. I was also impressed by the care that the mentoring team takes to make sure that a mentor is paired with the right mentee, which as I’ve discovered is critical to make sure the relationship will work.”
Aimee has mentored three separate young women who were struggling to cope with life’s challenges, meeting them in a local café at different intervals, depending on their needs. She has helped all three to make progress thanks to the supportive relationship she built with each mentee which contributed her mentee’s improved self-esteem, positive lifestyle choices, and better relationships with friends and family.
But Aimee feels that it’s not only her mentees who have benefited from their time together. She’s found that she has gained from her volunteer role too:
In some way I feel it’s totally selfish as it’s made me feel great about myself too and really proud that I have been able to help somebody.
Are you a good listener? Can you spare an hour a week or more?
