Freddie's volunteer story

My name is Freddie, and I'm a GROW mentor with Shelter. My mentee is part of the Getting Real Opportunities of Work (GROW) trainee scheme. From a really young age, I've been involved in volunteering. When I was 16, I went to Zambia and volunteered in a building project. It's important for me to give in any way I can, and so when I saw the GROW mentoring role, I applied.

I feel really lucky to be working for a large bank like Societe Generale and all the volunteering and fundraising opportunities we get through working there. I wanted to share this through my volunteering.

GROW is a project that is funded by Societe Generale, and so it made sense to take part in the mentoring scheme. It provides a space for someone to build their CV, work on interview skills, or even just to talk about how their day-to-day work life is going.

I was matched with Jake, and we hit it off right away. We have a shared passion for Arsenal Football Club and usually kick off our mentoring session with a quick discussion on football! The majority of our conversations, however, are led by what Jake wants to focus on, like courses that he's undertaking, deadlines he's managing, and developing his CV. It's also great to hear about the work that Shelter is doing through my mentoring.

Recently, Jake told me that he had been successful in gaining a full-time role at Shelter. I was ecstatic when he told me. The great thing about the GROW project is that it opens up these opportunities for people.

Back in October last year, our mentoring sessions focused on including things in Jake's CV that he hadn’t considered including before. We also talked about how to express yourself as a well-rounded person in interview settings. To hear that he had the confidence to use these in his application with Shelter, and now has the job, is brilliant.

I am so happy for him. I don't know if my volunteering has impacted the housing emergency directly. But what I do feel is that, through the GROW programme and the mentoring scheme, Shelter now has an amazing colleague in Jake who will do fantastic work in the south west.

I would like people to know that volunteering as a mentor with Shelter has given me the opportunity to meet someone I wouldn’t necessarily have met before, learn about a totally different sector, and hear more about the work that Shelter is doing on the frontline.

I've learnt how to be a more personable mentor, and it's rewarding to see someone's confidence grow over the year. It's been a great experience. I suppose the ultimate kudos I can give to the mentoring scheme is that I've just signed up to volunteer again with the next intake of GROW trainees!

Jake says:

'Freddie helped me massively, both with my search for a job and my wellbeing. I was sceptical at first as I had never had a corporate mentor before and I was unsure what I would get from this, although I still went into it with an open mind, and it ultimately paid off. Freddie and I got along very well and had many common interests, which helped me settle into these informal meetings and get the most from them.

Freddie helped me rewrite my CV, which has allowed me to secure an Intensive Floating Support Worker role within Shelter. Freddie also helped me with the interview prep. Overall, I cannot speak highly enough of this experience and would recommend it to anyone.'