Long-time North Shore resident wins Mentor of the Year
Steph Nash
Former Newport resident Maureen Pollard, 71, was named the New South Wales Mentor of the Year by the Australian Youth Mentoring Network early last month.
As a long-time volunteer for the Raise Foundation, a school counselling organisation, Maureen has spent the last eight years working with children from all over Sydney. She began working with Raise in 2006, which saw her travel to various schools in the Northern Beaches community. She has mentored children at Pittwater High School in Mona Vale, Barrenjoey in Avalon, and Narrabeen Sports High School. She has since moved to the Inner West, and has helped the Raise Foundation take on new high school students.
“I believe strongly in the idea of community. I moved from Newport to Balmain in 2008, and I contacted the schools in the area to see what they had going,” she said.
“They said they were interested in starting a program like Raise, but didn’t know where to start. So we organised the training of a few people, and got the program going at Riverside Girls, Marsden High and Ryde Secondary College. I’m happy that I brought the organisation to my new community.”
For Maureen, mentoring just furthers her passion for helping children in need. The Raise Foundation, run solely by volunteers, aims to protect children from abuse and psychological problems. Volunteers, like Maureen, are trained in counselling, and have scheduled appointments every week with children facing social difficulties. All meetings remain confidential, unless the mentor has legitimate concerns for the safety of the child or other children.
“A child that I had been mentoring had found her father dead one morning, and she turned up for mentoring the next day. She just needed someone, someone outside her family who wasn’t distressed. It’s just about being there for them. If you just ask the right questions, it’s amazing how you can change a child’s life,” Maureen said.
Age is not a deterrent for Maureen. If anything, she says her age helps her connect with kids. With nine young grandchildren under the age of 15, being a grandmother is just a second nature skill. Children are literally her world, and Maureen says she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love children. It’s amazing that you can bring happiness to one child just by sitting, talking and listening. It is wonderful, you have a sense of complete closeness to them. It’s sad at the end of the year when we have to finish the program, there’s a few tears from everyone.”
For more information on the Raise Foundation, please see theraisefoundation.org
