GLASGOW has been hailed for its efforts in helping disadvantaged young people realise their potential, as the city hosts an international mentoring conference.
The one-day conference is being held at Strathclyde university today and is jointly organised by the university, MCR Pathways and CELCIS (centre for excellence for looked after children in Scotland).
The MCR Pathways project has provided 200 troubled young people with advisors to work with them on career goals and access to higher education, and earlier this month launched the Inspiring500 programme with a target of attracting 500 new volunteers.
It is the brainchild of entrepreneur Iain McRitchie and has been backed by The Herald for the last 10 months.
Lead speaker at today’s conference, Renee Spencer, praised the work being done in Glasgow. Professor Spencer, an expert in social work at Boston university, said: “The investment being made in mentoring in Glasgow is impressive and is sure to pay off. We now have good evidence to show that mentoring is an effective strategy for improving the lives of disadvantaged youth.” Boston has faced similar challenges to Glasgow in relation to low achievement at high school among the most disadvantaged students. A similar mentoring initiative undertaken by Boston University has helped to increase the number of students who graduate from high school from 64 per cent in the late 1990s to 74 per cent by 2010.
Mr MacRitchie the Founder of MCR Pathways commented, “We are building to a future where every disadvantaged young person in Glasgow can be supported by a quality and experienced mentor to help them realise their full potential.
“Glasgow has some amazing young talent that we are very committed to help nurture and grow.”
Note: The above article and associated photography is © Copyright 2014 Herald & Times Group. All rights reserved. This article was originally published on www.heraldonline.com on 27th November 2014 and has been reprinted with permission..
