National Mentoring Day – 27th October
The focus of this year’s National Mentoring Day is to encourage people to give one hour to mentor one person.
The annual day, which takes place on 27th October, celebrates mentoring across sectors and recognises the contribution of mentors and mentees. This year’s ‘One Person, One Hour’ campaign invites people to share their knowledge, skills, experience or perspective through a mentoring conversation, either online or in person, on or around the 27th October.
National Mentoring Day (NMD) has produced a free one-hour mentoring guide to help participants prepare. It covers:
- Choosing someone to mentor
- Arranging the meeting
- Creating a suitable setting
- Reviewing safeguarding guidance.
During the conversation, it recommends agreeing the focus and expectations, setting boundaries and giving the mentee space to explore their questions. It also includes guidance on agreeing next steps and inviting feedback at the end of the session.
There are other ways to get involved, including organising mentoring events, thanking a mentor or mentee, and sharing stories on social media. The National Mentoring Day website provides promotional materials including posters, banners, email signatures, social media graphics and thank-you cards.
Participants can claim free CPD credits and certificates for giving or receiving mentoring and attending mentoring events. NMD also offers a free Mentoring Effectiveness Self-Assessment, designed to help mentors reflect on their strengths and development areas, with CPD recognition available on completion.
Charity Mentoring Network (CMN) members can get involved and use a collection of ready-to-use resources to promote mentoring within their organisations.
Our National Mentoring Day resources include graphics and posters for staff newsletters, intranets, Microsoft Teams, presentations and other internal communications. They explore what colleagues could gain from a mentor, what they could offer as one, and the opportunity to learn from someone working in another charity.
Members can share a graphic alongside a short message, bring mentoring into a team meeting or invite an existing mentor or mentee to describe their experience. A few reminders over time can help colleagues discover the opportunity when they are ready to take part.