Societe Generale and Mind charity work together on a long-term capacity building programme

On 24th May 2016 ELBA launched its Mentoring & Coaching programme with Societe Generale and Mind, to build the capacity of staff at the charity.

Coaching and mentoring is an effective and impactful way of building the capacity of charities across east London, and with Societe Generale already supporting Mind as its charity of the year partner, it was the ideal opportunity for ELBA to undertake this programme and build on that relationship.

All volunteers and participants had been provisionally matched before the programme launch, based on the needs of each participant and the skills each volunteer had to offer.

On the day all volunteers and participants came together to learn more about the programme, gaining a greater understanding of the value of mentoring to help inform their future sessions. Individuals were then paired off in their provisional matches, meeting each other for the first time to discuss each other’s background, skills and requirements.

Jenny Cowan, Head of CSR at Societe Generale said: “This programme seemed the perfect way to complement our charity partnership, giving us the chance to maximise the positive impact we can have both in the short term and long term and utilise the skills of our colleagues to support Mind.”

Anna Murray, Senior Corporate Partnerships Officer at Mind also added “We are delighted to be adding another facet to our partnership with Societe Generale with the introduction of the mentoring programme. This is a great opportunity for Mind staff to enhance their skills and continue their professional development.” Pairs will now meet regularly for the next six months. ELBA looks forward to seeing the positive outcome of this programme.

For further information about mentoring and coaching programmes at ELBA please contact Ben Fowler, Community Works Project Manager: ben.fowler@elba-1.org.uk.