Our Marketing Manager Jo has recently become a Big Sister in the Girls Out Loud Big Sister Programme. Here she explains more about why she signed up and her experiences so far.
What is the Girls Out Loud Big Sister Mentoring Programme?
The Big Sister Programme works with year 8 girls and targets the middle girl. The ones who are in danger of becoming invisible as they simply cruise through school trying to find their place. These are the girls who are neither seriously disruptive nor academically gifted, so they tend to get lost in the noise and either hide in the corner or look for validation in all the wrong places. The one thing they all share is a propensity to underperform. We understand these girls; we are passionate about these girls. We know for sure with some guidance and an awesome role model on their side these girls will step up, find their voice and shine.
Why did I decide to become a Big Sister?
I have been wanting to give back for a while and I saw a post on LinkedIn about being a Big Sister and helping a Little Sister to find her voice, believe in herself, feel more confident and empowered to go after her dreams and it instantly resonated with me. I have always struggled with confidence and self-belief and having a Big Sister in my life when I was a teenager would have been fantastic, so I applied straight away.
Becoming a Big Sister with Girls Out Loud is one of the best decisions that I’ve made. I am very grateful that Lucy saw how fantastic the Programme was and agreed to sponsor me to take part. Being able to use my experiences and knowledge to make a difference to a teenage girl’s life is a wonderful opportunity and I believe the Programme will also give me the space to grow on a personal level too. The Big Sister Programme has also given me the opportunity to experience working in an environment that is different to my day job, and I am looking forward to developing my mentoring skills and helping my Little Sister over the next 12 months.
What’s next?
I have completed my training and have had my first session with my Little Sister. Her name is Sejal and she is a wonderful young lady. I am looking forward to getting to know her in our monthly sessions, completing activities together and I can’t wait to see what she can achieve over the next 12 months.
Find out more about Girls Out Loud - www.girlsoutloud.org.uk
