Mentoring and Befriending

Overview

• What is 'mentoring' and what is 'befriending'? - VE article

Articles

• Lost In Translation - Volunteering magazine
• Who Is Listening? - Volunteering magazine
• Dr Stuart's casebook on volunteers visiting clients in their homes - Volunteering magazine
• Supporting Volunteers Through Bereavement - VE Information Sheet
• Research findings on the role of Volunteer Development Agencies in mentoring and befriending - IVR report
• Evaluations of mentoring projects - Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Evaluations of mentoring projects - Youth Justice Board
  

Example documents

• Example policy for "Endings" - guidance for befrienders in an NHS Community Befriending Project (PDF)
  

Case Studies

• Volunteer Development Agencies: activity in mentoring and befriending
• Goldstar Exemplar Programme - good practice examples in working with mentors and befrienders
  (external link)

Links

• The Mentoring and Befriending Foundation
  Offers guidance, publications, training packs, a resource and research directory and "APS", a national award for good practice in mentoring and befriending
  http://www.mandbf.org.uk

• The Befriending Network (Scotland)
  http://www.befriending.co.uk

• What Can I Do?
  A guide to volunteering in the criminal justice system, includes case studies on several mentoring schemes. Produced by PACT (Prison Advice and Care Trust) and the Churches Criminal Justice Forum
  http://www.whatcanido.org.uk/

• Volunteer Solutions
  Sells ready-made training outlines and resources to deliver training for volunteers. Pack 7 is called “Exits and Endings” and is particularly relevant to mentoring and befriending schemes.
  http://www.volunteersolutions.org.uk/
• Goldstar Exemplar Programme
  A national programme aiming to highlight good practice in working with volunteers from socially excluded groups. Many of the exemplar projects run mentoring and befriending schemes.
  http://www.goldstar.org.uk/

Publications

Free publications

• Mentoring and Befriending: An Introduction - Mentoring and Befriending Foundation (external link)
• A Guide to Insurance for Mentoring and Befriending Programmes - Mentoring and Befriending Foundation(PDF, external link)

Priced publications

• Square One: Developing New Befriending - Befriending Network Scotland (external link)
• 10 Steps to Setting Up a Mentoring or Befriending Programme - Mentoring and Befriending Foundation (external link)
• A Guide to Effective Evaluation - Mentoring and Befriending Foundation (external link)
• Training Mentoring and Befriending Volunteers: a trainers' resource pack - Mentoring and Befriending Foundation

Share your experiences

The Good Practice Bank is growing steadily as more information is added to it. An important feature of the Bank is allowing users to share their documents with other volunteering organisations. We are particularly interested in receiving example policies or documents that you are happy to share with others. If we use your contribution, you could win a book on volunteering from our regular prize draw.

• If your organisation has an example to contribute, please use our simple form to submit it.
• Or, please send us an email or telephone 0800 028 3304 (phone and textphone)