Hi am Alfie! I am quite early into my time as a mentor and it has been a fantastic experience so far. I am so optimistic on the sessions ahead and to build a relationship with my little mentee. 

Working with kids is a challenging role, but one that is incredibly fulfilling and inspiring. As soon as I heard about the opportunity to be a mentor I was very excited to be involved. 

Joining the programme is a bit of an unknown as you don’t know who your mentee will be, what their background is and there is always slight doubt as to if you will click or not. But despite these concerns, I knew I wanted to be a part of the programme and hopefully create a few fantastic memories for a great kid! 

So far in the programme I have been getting to know my mentee and it is great to release from the stressful life from an adult and see the world through a child’s eyes again. Kids have such a fascinated view of the world and can find fun everywhere. And, of course, they have endless energy! So far we have played a lot of football and started to know each other.

We have discussed favourite players, football, countries to live in and so much more. Sometimes the simplest activities can be perfect, which was a relief to me as I did not want to let my mentee down at all with activities they found boring. 

As a mentor you get to use a moderated app that can be used to speak with the mentee between sessions and keep the communication up. It also gives a bit of responsibility to the mentor to keep that communication and I think they find it fun to be able to plan sessions or discuss sessions gone by. 

The Kids Network is doing fantastic work to help hundreds of children and I would strongly encourage anyone who has an interest in working with kids to get involved. I have had a blast getting to know the other mentors and of course my own little mentee, and I cannot wait to see how the year goes!