Volunteer Mentor

About us

At The Catalyst Collective, we believe that mentoring can be a powerful intervention in the lives of young women. Since 2021, we’ve recruited, trained, matched and supported professional Black women with Black teenagers for year-long mentoring relationships.

What we’re looking for

As we prepare to launch our newest cohort in September and October 2024, we’re looking for Black women who are able to commit at least 1 hour per month for mentoring. Mentors can work in any professional fields.

Please note this is not a paid position and we do not charge mentees to participate in our programmes.

As we offer training and support to all mentors, you do not need prior experience as a mentor to volunteer with us.

Your role as a mentor

As a mentor, you’ll play a key role in supporting Black female students in years 9 to 13 to achieve their goals.

How it works

Mentoring pairs meet once a month virtually (using our mentoring platform or over Zoom/MS Teams/Google Meet) and these meetings typically last for 1 hour. The mentoring journey kicks off with a virtual Mentor Match session with other mentoring pairs on the cohort.

All mentoring pairs are allocated a Mentoring Coordinator who is the first port of call for all questions and queries.

Mentoring Coordinators meet with mentors monthly and troubleshoot issues, provide session ideas and help to keep the relationship on track.

We also plan group trips and events based around a range of themes to complement 1:1 sessions.

Application Process

As part of our application process, you’ll have an informal interview with a member of The Catalyst team.

If selected as a mentor, you’ll need to undergo a DBS check and provide details of 2 character references. The cost of the DBS check is covered by The Catalyst Collective. Prior to meeting your mentee, you’ll also attend mandatory mentoring and safeguarding training.