Samaritans mentoring a win-win

“I started my job for Samaritans fresh out of university and was working as the sole communications person there. Fiona made a huge difference in building my confidence as a recent graduate, and provided me with the mentorship I needed so early in my career. During my first big project – organising the Samaritans street appeal – Fiona guided me through an effective communications campaign. This, combined with help from other people, resulted in a huge increase in profit compared to the previous year.

“What I enjoyed most was working with someone, Fiona, who held the same values as our organisation – where the end goal for both of us was to help others in the community.

“The support I received from the collective, from Fiona and also by attending the collective’s free workshops, was amazing.”

“I really enjoy mentoring as it gives me the opportunity to work with fabulous new people to the communications profession, like Isabelle. Isabelle really wanted to make a difference and despite limited resources, having a ‘can do’ attitude meant we got things really moving. We brainstormed possibilities around the annual appeal to develop a plan that saw Isabelle bringing together a wide range of stakeholders to help – from MPs, community representatives and even her friends – which led to more funds being raised than in previous appeals.

“It’s great to be involved with the Community Comms Collective, which gives back to our profession. Life-long learning is key and it’s nice to be part of that kaupapa. It was great to work with Isabelle and I think I learnt as much as she learnt from me.”