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Contact Details

Kingston University Studentsí Union,
Penrhyn Road,
Kingston upon Thames,
Surrey,
KT1 2EE

Tel: 0208 547 8868
Fax: 0208 547 8862

► Befriending & Mentoring

Back to School

The ‘Back to School’ project is KUSU’s school liaison scheme, providing volunteering opportunities in local primary, secondary and special needs schools.The opportunities range from one-off to long term. Many of the schools need general help in class or with lunchtime or after school clubs. IF you have a particular area of skill or interest, the teachers would love you to share this with their pupils, by running a workshop of just talking to them. For more information contact Celina

The Befriending Project

The project provides individual befrienders for young people aged 12 to 19 years with learning/physical disabilities to help them lead a more independent life, have fun and give their parent/carers a break. A befriender will help the disabled teenager take part in leisure and sporting activities in the community or in the young person’s home. The type of activities you could get involved include shopping, swimming, football, cinema or eating out . As a befriender you can be a positive role model for the young person by helping to broaden their social horizons. So if you can help a young person with disabilities to become more independent whilst having fun please Contact Alex

Big Buddy
Big Buddy is a mentoring scheme for vulnerable 8-13 year olds who live in the Borough of Kingston. It is one of the preventative services provided by Kingston Children’s Fund. Young people are referred by professionals to Big Buddy for a number of reasons; they may have a difficult home life, problems at school, anger management issues, be shy or withdrawn or sometimes they have mild learning difficulties. Volunteers go through a comprehensive training course before they are matched with a young person, and are provided with one to one monthly support throughout their relationship. Mentors are trained and matched a young person and go on to develop a one to one mentoring relationship; providing them with a positive adult role model, helping them to set and achieve personal goals and make links with their local community. The lengths of relationships vary according to the needs of the young people. Meeting twice a month for around 2 hours, you will be supplied with a budget of £25 a month to spend on positive activities and resources. You will be provided with monthly supervisions, peer support meetings, and telephone/ email support from the Big Buddy Coordinator. We also offer further training to help you deal with specific issues in your mentoring relationship. For more information contact Alex

The Buddy Scheme
The Buddy Scheme is a befriending project that matches volunteers with adults with learning disabilities so they can enjoy their social time and leisure activities. The aim of the project is to help to reduce social isolation amongst adults with learning disabilities by providing volunteer befrienders, enabling them to enjoy leisure activities, encouraging choice and independence. The Buddy Scheme is open to adults with learning disabilities in the Borough of Kingston. Volunteers visit the service-user they are matched with on a one-to-one basis, regularly over a long period of time, and participate in a shared activity with that person. The amount of time a volunteer spends with the service-user depends on the leisure activity, and so may vary from outing to outing depending on what they agree to do. The role of a volunteer is purely as a befriender. A definition of befriending is: “Befriending offers supportive, reliable relationships through volunteer befrienders to people who would otherwise be socially isolated”. Volunteers are not carers, escorts, or support workers. Befrienders are there for the service-user they visit and not to relieve other services, support or carers in any way. For more information contact Alex

Positive Environment Kingston (PEK)

Kingston Council’s Environment & Sustainability Department are constantly striving to improve environmental issues in the borough. PEK is an exciting new initiative which aims to build the capacity of organisations and businesses in Kingston to improve their sustainability performance, and promote best practice to help reduce the borough’s ecological footprint. PEK is now entering it’s 3rd year and has recently won several national awards for it’s work. Volunteers are trained as environmental mentors who then support the local organisations who have signed up to become involved. Mentors visit their organisation regularly helping them improve through research, monitoring, inspiration and ideas as well as delivery and advice. In particular they help the organisation to develop an Environmental Action Plan, prioritising areas such as reducing waste, recycling, buying locally, alternative transport, energy and water saving as well as procurement of green energy. For more information contact Alex

Tolworth Junior School

Tolworth Junior is a community school for boys and girls aged 7 – 11 years. It is a very welcoming and friendly school that has adapted a hands-on and inclusive approach, using a wide range of methods to improve the quality of the children’s experience at TJS. There are five different roles at Tolworth Junior that volunteers can take part in. Depending on your interests and experience, your can help in a more general setting, or if you prefer, in one-to-one sessions outside the classroom. Each role allows you to use various qualities so that you can work to your strengths, and share your knowledge with the children in fun and exciting ways. The five roles that you can take part in are classroom support, club support, learning mentor, library assistant and lunchtime playleader. If you are interested in this fantastic opportunity and would like more information about the roles and getting involved, then contact Celina