SHINE is the national festival celebrating all the talents in all young people, taking place from 6-10 July 2009.
Throughout SHINE week, national charity The Mentoring & Befriending Foundation (MBF) will be celebrating the work of its nationwide network of over 29,000 young peer mentors with special assemblies and award presentations.
Every day children across the UK shine in their role of peer mentors in school. These remarkable young people volunteer to give up their free time to support others by hosting drop-in lunch time clubs, one-to-one peer mentoring sessions or by just being ‘around' if anyone needs a listening ear.
They are the eyes and ears of the playground and fulfill a unique role in schools today - giving other young people a chance to be heard and supported by someone of a similar age.
Chief Executive of the MBF, Steve Matthews says " We are incredibly proud of these young people - of the commitment they give to peer mentoring and of the level of maturity, empathy and kindness they show their peers. I encourage everyone to stop for a moment in Shine Week and take a closer look at some of the amazing and selfless (but sometimes unnoticed) things these young people are doing every day right across the country"
A Year 10 Peer Mentor explains its not just about what they give - but also about what they get back "I've learnt patience, how to really listen and how not to judge. I've got a lot of satisfaction from being a peer mentor. I've learnt that we need to think before we act, think before we judge... and think before we speak...you can't just go through life saying the first thing that comes into your mind ... you have to take a second to make the right decision and then you'll get good consequences in life!"
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