Representatives from the Robertson Trust visited Forth Valley College recently (Monday 3 February) to see how their funding was helping the college’s Time4Me project.
Mark Laing, Chair of the Scholarship Committee, Gordon Hunt, Head of Scholarship & Learning and, DonnaMarie Steel, Scholarship Project Officer from the Robertson Trust met with Sarah Tervit FVC’s Mentor Coordinator, several active FVC staff mentors and mentee Charlotte Carney-Harrop a Level 2 Professional Cookery student.
More than 30 Forth Valley College staff are now fully trained mentors thanks to the project and able to support young students aged between15-26 year olds who may be care experienced, young carers or reside in regeneration areas.
The ‘Time4Me’ initiative received a £143,000 donation from The Robertson Trust based within the FVC Student Services Department. It is hoped the Trust will recognise the important work that has already been done and continue to support the project.
Training existing staff members to become volunteer mentors, reflects the College’s commitment to supporting young people who face challenging circumstances, helping them make a successful and sustained transition into college life.
Mentors help the mentees with goal setting, problem solving and communication and the young people taking part will gain confidence and develop skills which will help them with their studies, career and life goals.
Gordon Hunt, Head of Scholarship and learning at the Robertson Trust, said: “We are delighted with the progress of the Time4Me project and the positive impact it’s having on students and staff at the College. Meeting the mentors and Charlotte was inspirational, and it was particularly good to be able to visit them in the impressive surroundings of the new Falkirk Campus. We value our partnership with the College and are grateful to Sarah and the team for hosting our visit.”
Sarah Tervit, FVC’s Mentor Coordinator, said: “It was great to welcome The Robertson Trust to our new Falkirk Campus to meet with some of our mentors and mentees to showcase the people involved in Time4Me and demonstrate the impact the project is making
“I am delighted and overwhelmed by the response from staff wanting to get involved and give up at least an hour of their time a week to help develop young people. This is a fantastic project and already it is proving to help the students taking part a great deal. We can’t thank the Robertson Trust enough for their funding and support and hope to continue our partnership moving forward.”
Any member of staff who may have any student referrals should contact Sarah Tervit on sarah.tervit@forthvalley.ac.uk