Leisure time mentoring with a primary school child from Neukölln

In the project, 1:1 mentorships are established between Neukölln elementary school children aged 6 to 12 and volunteer godparents from all over Berlin.

The focus of the mentorships is the trusting relationship between godparent and child. Godparents and godchild give each other time, attention and mutual interest. In this way, the godchildren discover their interests, strengths and potential: they discover their "talent".

The volunteer godparents also benefit: They observe with joy the development of their godchild and experience directly the meaningfulness of their commitment.

How a sponsorship can look like, you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lraaFLweOm0

More info on the project is available here: https://www.neukoelln-plus.de/was-wir-machen/kinder-und-jugendliche/neukoellner-talente-patenschaften/

Your Tasks

The mentors meet their mentee 1 x weekly over a period of 12 months and pursue various leisure activities together. The meetings are agreed upon with the parents of the children: possible are firm days/time slots or also from week to week certain dates.

There is very much to discover and undertake in Neukölln and in Berlin. The mentors determine with their mentee what is done next. The project team is also available with suggestions.

What do we offer you during mentoring?

• There are regular meetings with other mentors (every 2 months) and free training
• We are available at any time for individual questions / need to talk 
• Multiple times a year there are joint activities such as trips and parties
• After the end of the first mentoring year, there is a joint meeting to review
• Certificate of participation or honorary card on request

What's needed

You should bring empathy, reliability and joy in dealing with children. In addition, you should be certain of your availability in Berlin for the next 12 months and have enough time available, to meet 1x per week 2-3 hours with your mentee.

By the way, this does not mean that you can't go on vacation throughout the year - of course, this is possible!

Time required

The appointments take place once a week. The time and place of the meeting are arranged individually with the parents of the mentored child. In most cases, the child is picked up from home and also brought home again at the end of the meeting. These travel times should also be taken into account when planning the time.

In 2005 over 100 people founded in Neukölln the first neighbourhood community-foundation of Germany. They have united in order to encourage people for a new start. N+ is a community platform for the creation of a appreciative cooperation of which associations, church communities, house projects, initiatives, companies and individuals are taking part. The Bürgerstiftung Neukölln has been started a lot of projects and has been supporting different initiatives in Neukölln which are working for a better education, a diverse culture and mutual respect. In this way the vision of a intercultural city is taking shape.