Wondering what to do in April for Community Service Month? Please think about making a difference to someone’s life by mentoring them. Why? Because I would not be where I am now without the help of others and in particular one special person who made time for me as a child when I needed it most.
I know mentoring makes a difference; I experienced it first hand. My grandfather was a miner in Merthyr Tydfil for 47 years, my grandparents lived in a council house and my Mum worked in a jam factory. In my family it was normal to leave school at 16. Paul, a local Conservative councillor sat with me on Monday nights to go through 11+ papers. That hard work paid off and thanks to Colchester High School - a leading Grammar school - I became the first person in my family to take A levels and go to University where I studied Microbiology.
Paul taught me the value of hard work and ability and he inspired me to succeed on my own merit. Those values have guided my life through a successful career at GlaxoWellcome where I worked in the production of interferon, UBS where I was one of its youngest directors and HSBC where I won awards as a leading pharmaceutical analyst. Paul also taught me to give something back. I now teach maths to disadvantaged adults at the Masbro Centre in Brook Green giving them the skills to succeed. For me being a Conservative is a way of life. It is about working hard, identifying your skills and then using those skills to ensure you are successful, not a burden on society and then helping those that are less fortunate than yourself.
Most people don’t ever get to thank the people that truly inspired them but I had that privilege recently. I had the honour of speaking at the Harwich and North Essex Conservative Women’s Group with Bernard Jenkin MP - it’s the area where I grew up. I spoke about my early life and all the people that have helped and supported me. I spoke about my job training dolphins, what it was like standing as the Parliamentary Candidate in Rhondda and how I now arrange ‘Make It Your Business’ entrepreneur events for my Grenfell community. Sitting in the front row with tears streaming down his face sat Paul the Conservative councillor who changed my life. In the spirit of full disclosure - I cried too.
I am privileged to live in Kensington. It’s a great community, a place of exciting contrasts that draw people to live and work here. The average annual salary is £123,000 - the highest in the UK - and yet there is an 11 year life expectancy gap between the north and the south of the borough. I live next to Notting Dale ward which is ranked as one of the most deprived wards in the country. The Grenfell Tower stands in this ward.
The Grenfell tragedy will always cast a shadow over our community. I realised early on that our community had to work together to give the residents of the Tower hope and was intent on providing mentoring and support. People would ask me ‘How can I help?’ And I would reply - ‘Open up your address book - speak to your work about having a Grenfell summer student’. Over the summer of 2017 I arranged work placements for students from the Grenfell community with City banks, PR companies, local businesses and even Number 10!
Supporting young adults has enriched my life in so many ways. I have made life long friends and learned about so many different businesses from gardening to yoga to teaching Spanish and Ghanaian textiles. I play a real part in my community and I am excited about helping shape its future. Mentoring has taught me to listen, to work with people where they are, to work out their needs and to work to add value to their lives. It has also helped me to develop as a teacher. It takes passion and strength to run a classroom, imagination and humour to keep students motivated and empathy and patience to provide useful feedback.
‘Virginia believed in me. She encouraged me and supported me and dragged me. Now I have my own textile business and it is me who is encouraging other women to develop their talents’. Talibah, Social Entrepreneur
A mentor changed my life and gave me access to opportunities that have enriched and shaped my journey. I want others to have the support I had at a critical time. If you are thinking about how you can support your community then please think about mentoring a disadvantaged talented young adult. Reach out and find someone that can’t find you; local schools, youth groups or charities are a great place to start and hopefully you too will make someone cry.
Virginia Crosbie is National Director of Women2Win which leads the campaign to elect more Conservative women to Parliament.
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