When Kevin signed up to become a volunteer mentor at Lift Unity City Academy in Middlesbrough, he wasn’t looking to become an expert, a teacher or someone with all the answers.

He simply wanted to be someone who showed up for a local young person.

Working in adult mental health, Kevin has seen first-hand how experiences during childhood and adolescence can shape the rest of a person’s life. Too often, the unique challenges adults face can be traced back to difficult experiences at school or a lack of consistent support when they were younger.

That’s why becoming a volunteer mentor with MCR Pathways felt like an opportunity to make a difference before those challenges become lifelong barriers:

“If we can create a little bit of space to offer support that perhaps wasn’t there for the adults I’m working with now, we might be able to change the trajectory of someone’s life. That’s a bold statement, but that’s what motivated me to get involved.”

For Kevin, mentoring isn’t about fixing problems or directing someone’s future. It’s about walking alongside a young person to provide perspective and support.

“We’re not there to direct, teach or influence every decision they make. It’s about giving young people space to explore, to make mistakes, and to come back knowing they’ll be met with unwavering positive regard. It’s about being someone they can lean on.”

Watch Kevin’s video below

A conversation that started with football

Like many new mentors, Kevin admits he felt nervous before meeting his young person for the first time. Despite excellent training and support from MCR Pathways, the anticipation was still there.

“I went in expecting to be nervous, and I absolutely was.”

That feeling disappeared almost immediately: “The first question I was asked was, ‘Do you like football?’ Suddenly everything relaxed.”

That simple conversation became the foundation for a mentoring relationship built on trust.

As a football coach, Kevin discovered they shared a genuine passion for the game. Football quickly became much more than a topic of conversation: it became a way to explore confidence, friendships, resilience and overcoming setbacks.

“We shape our conversations around something they’re passionate about because that’s what draws them in. Then we use that as a bridge into wider conversations about the future.”

Alongside football, conversations naturally expanded to school, career ambitions and the young person’s dream of joining the Army. Although military life wasn’t an area Kevin knew much about, it opened meaningful discussions around discipline, responsibility, resilience and preparing for the future.

“If you simply talk to a young person about discipline, they might switch off. But if you put it into the context of football or their ambitions in the Army, suddenly it makes sense.”

The small moments that matter most

Mentoring isn’t always dramatic breakthroughs. Often it’s the seemingly small moments that reveal just how much trust has grown. For Kevin, one of those moments came only a few weeks into the relationship.

“The first time they called me ‘Kev’ felt like a real milestone. It might sound small, but I thought, ‘We’re building something here.'”

There have been many proud moments since. One was watching his young person excitedly prepare to speak at a regional business dinner: a challenge that would feel daunting for most adults, never mind a young person.

Another came unexpectedly during a mentoring session in the playground. While Kevin and his mentee were playing football together, a science teacher came outside to share some fantastic news.

The young person had been moved into the school’s top science set.

“It was brilliant to just step back and let them enjoy that moment because they’d done the work. To think our hour together each week might have contributed even one or two per cent towards that success was really special.”

For Kevin, these moments aren’t about taking credit, it’s more about celebrating success together. They’re reminders of what can happen when a young person has someone consistently in their corner.

Learning from each other

Although mentoring is designed to support young people, Kevin says the experience has changed him just as much.

“It’s helped me learn to see the world through the eyes of a young person.”

As someone in his forties, he realised it was easy to assume he knew what mattered most. Mentoring taught him something different.

“It’s not my session – it’s the young person’s session. I’ve learned that I don’t have all the answers because we’re coming at things from completely different perspectives, and that’s okay.”

By creating space for honest, open conversations, Kevin says he’s become a better listener, more patient and more understanding.

Giving young people the opportunity to explain their world, rather than adults interpreting it for them, has become one of the greatest lessons mentoring has given him.

Showing up matters

When asked what makes a great mentor, Kevin doesn’t talk about qualifications or experience. Instead, he points to three simple qualities.

Patience. Commitment. And kindness.

“Sometimes a quiet week is actually a really good week. Stability matters. Those weeks where you feel like you haven’t done very much, you’re probably doing more than you realise.”

Consistency, he says, is often the greatest gift a volunteer can give.

“If you can be someone who’s consistently there for a young person—someone they know will always be on their side regardless of what’s happening around them—that’s incredibly valuable.”

One of the best hours of your week

For anyone wondering whether they have enough time to become a volunteer mentor, Kevin has a simple message.

“People think it’s going to feel like another commitment, but honestly, it doesn’t feel like work.”

“That hour each week becomes one of the most rewarding—and one of the easiest—hours in your week because it’s genuinely good fun.”

His advice is not to think about what you’ll be giving up. Think about what you could help a young person gain.

“I’d encourage anyone thinking about becoming a mentor not to see it as adding another commitment to an already busy life. Instead, think of it as setting aside one hour to do something genuinely positive that can make a real difference.”

Could you become someone’s trusted adult?

MCR Pathways is looking for adult volunteers across Middlesbrough to give just one hour each week to support a local young person on their path to a positive future.

That one hour can help a young person build confidence, develop ambition and realise their potential, while giving you one of the most rewarding experiences of your own week.

Become a mentor. Change a life. Until everyone has someone.

You already have it in you to make a difference and you don’t need to have all the answers. We provide training and ongoing support.

Find out more about becoming a volunteer mentor: mcrpathways.org/become-a-mentor