Sometimes when you’re in a bad way, you feel like you have nobody and you kind of find it hard to express yourself and stuff like that but having a Mentor there, like someone that’s willing to listen and talk, it’s definitely a good thing. 

Young person in mentoring

Mentoring is one of Le Cheile’s core services and has been proven to reduce offending behaviour and encourage positive economic and social benefits. Mentoring makes a positive difference for young people, their parents and society overall.

Founded in recognition of Muhammad Ali’s birthday, International Mentoring Day honors the boxing legend  by continuing his efforts to create a more just and equitable world for young people. International Mentoring Day is an important day for acknowleding the benefit and impact of mentoring for those who are mentored, but also for those those who share their life experiences as mentors. Our volunteer mentors work tirelessly for their mentees and provide a key role in supporting, encouraging, challenging and advocating for young people  across Ireland, and their families. Mentee’s view our mentors as a trusted supporter who willingly give their own time on a regular basis to meet with our mentees to spend time together building relationships, learning and developing skills and spending time more proactively.

“It brought me out of house, taught me that I have something to contribute and got me back to college for further study so it has been life changing” 

Volunteer Mentor 

The impact of mentoring can be seen in Le Cheile’s annual reporting. In 2021 alone, Le Cheile supported over 180 young people and over 100 parents/carers through over 1900 mentoring sessions. The impact and value of mentoring can be further quantified by the evaluation of our mentoring service, Reducing Youth Crime in Ireland which found that through mentoring, offending behaviour can reduce by an average of 28% and that for every €1 invested in mentoring, there is a social return of €4.35.

An important element for supporting mentoring is the partnerships we have developed with funders and organisations across the country such as the Probation Service, Oberstown, Crosscare, Waterford and South Tipperary Community Youth Service and Archways. A shared commitment to the well-being of young people is what drives us and provides the foundation for the effectiveness of our mentoring service.