Volunteer tutor Shinu Mittal talks about her experiences on the Team Up programme, and the mentoring she received as part of her volunteering:
I volunteered with Team Up to teach maths to secondary school pupils. I work full time and am a mother and volunteered for one hour every week for one term. My Programme Manger was very cooperative and the experience was worth the time - I have gained new perspective on teaching and pupils' challenges.
All volunteers get an option to have mentorship as a reward for their effort. So I approached Team Up to get a mentor for myself.
I am an IT professional and struggle being heard in meetings and getting my points across effectively. So I wanted a mentor who could help me with my communication skills. They connected me to a behavioral coach, it was like I asked for an economy plane ticket but I got business class.
I got an opportunity to work with Vida Carmel, who is behavioural/NLP coach. She worked on the root causes rather than the symptoms. I got four one hour sessions with her.
She could help me turn off the negative voice in my head which always made me doubt myself IN ONE SESSION, I still can’t believe it. That one session has made massive difference in my emotional well being. She gave me very different perspectives and ways to approach my blockers in next sessions. I am more confident and positive about myself as a result of her coaching. I wish I had more sessions to gain from her wisdom.
I gained much more than I gave via volunteering. The experience of working with pupils and the tools I learnt from my mentor are life long assets. I would like to thank Team Up for letting me be part of such an amazing team.