New Blog Entry!

Posted on 06/03/2018

How a paper clip changed my life!

Some years ago I was working part time and I would be lying if I said that I was happy in my role; but that all changed one day due to the humble paper clip! A colleague chided me for putting paper clips in envelopes and reminded me that “the Post Office don’t like them and think of the cost to the charity!”

That afternoon, I thought that there must be more to life than paper clips and it’s up to me to make that change. The first step I made was seeking career advice and it suggested that I would be very good as a mentor to young people. I then decided to go along and volunteer at my local High School as a mentor and from day one I knew that this was my new path in life. I soon realised that I could recruit mentors to work alongside me and support more children. That was back in 2002 and since then supporting and helping young people has become the focus of the charity that I founded: Mentor Link. In 2017 we provided a mentoring service to 72 schools across the West Midlands and supported 359 children.  In 2017 I was privileged to be invited to join a Select Committee on mentoring at the House of Commons. Life has changed a lot since 2002 and I rarely have time to think about the importance of paper clips!

Andrea Maddocks MBE – CEO of Mentor Link.