The power of showing up | raise.org.au
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Last year we measured the impact Raise mentors have beyond mentoring and found that as well as making a difference for their mentee, they were able to support at least one additional young person and one additional adult in their lives. This year, we built on this finding to discover that mentors from their first year at Raise are using their skills to help others – four out of five new mentors use their skills to help other young people in their families and their community or help others in their workplace. Raise mentors feel more equipped to support young people because the relationship they have built with their mentee/s has broken down generational barriers – grandparents are building their confidence to relate to their grandchildren’s experiences and parents understand how to encourage their children to seek help when they need it. Evaluation has always been a cornerstone of our youth mentoring programs. The Raise Independent Evaluation, funded by the Australian Department of Health was completed and launched this year. Comparing outcomes to a matched control group of similar students, the evaluation found that Raise causes positive impact on a range of outcomes and works best for young people most in need. The benefits of prevention and intervening early also make sound economic sense. Investing in Raise Youth Mentoring for a young person at 13-15, yields benefits across their whole lifetime in better education outcomes and higher earnings, as well as avoided costs in healthcare and welfare. An independent economic evaluation of the costs and benefits of Raise Youth Mentoring found a return of $4.37 for every $1 invested. We can now complete the sentence ‘Does Raise Youth Mentoring work?’ with a resounding ‘Yes’. In 2025, in partnership with the Life Course Centre at the University of Sydney we are commencing another independent study, this time looking at the long-term sustained impacts of Raise Youth Mentoring, beyond high school and into early adulthood. Our mentoring programs are made up of thousands of individual stories of hope, resilience, help seeking and belonging. We can’t share all of them with you, but we can share a few. If you are one of the 1,938 mentors who volunteered with Raise this year you may recognise your own mentee’s journey in the impact we have made together in 2024.
If not a Raise mentor, I hope you are inspired by the difference that building connection in local communities and across generations can make. The actions of just one person can lead to change makers everywhere. “The program has been great. My mentor has been so helpful, and she is the best. Before Raise I was insecure and didn’t know what to do and thanks to Raise it has been so helpful. I would love to do it as a mentor myself in the future.” – Raise Mentee
Data and Youth Insights Team
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