The story of Positive Pete is one rooted in the Passion that every young person has
Value as a Human being regardless of their ethnicity, academic achievement, social
economic background or what labels they have collected in their short lives.
Being labelled as being different when I was growing up in the 1950’s, left handed and
having dyslexia was not, as I found, the best way to start life. However, regardless of
what I was told I decided it was just that, a label; I was amazing at some things and
challenged by others, which just made me more determined to succeed and succeed I
did. I ended up as the Finance Director of an organisation prior to embarking on
setting up Positive Pete in 2010, which became a charity in 2012. The one thing that
spurred me on was that when I was learning to walk I could never remember giving up
and no one ever told me I couldn’t do it.
Initially One mentor, me, working with One student, we grew to Two working with Five
students and this has grown to, as of today, Twenty-Seven Volunteer Mentors working
with Fifty Students. To date we have assisted 120 students and helped them change
their lives and realise their True Potential.
All of the people working with Positive Pete are Volunteers; we all share the same
Passion about young people and we have learnt to disregard the bad press that the
young of today sometimes receive and focus on what we as individuals can do to assist
in helping a young person turn their life around.
We work with a vast range of young people from the vulnerable, ones with learning
difficulties to the highly gifted (they just don’t know it). Yes, we have challenges with
finding Volunteers and Funding, however we consider ourselves extremely fortunate in
the people who Volunteer for us. There is no pre-requisite in qualifications required to
become one of our Volunteer Mentors, as we offer full Accredited Training to all those
that work with us. We look for people who have already been through the ups & downs
of growing up, the ins and outs of school life and all that it brings, and that have an
Empathy with the young and can work in a Non-Judgmental way.
The organisations that we have received Donations and Grants from to date see what
we offer is a truly life changing opportunity for the young people we work with and they,
like us, are committed to ‘Be the Change You Wish to See in the World’
(Mahatma Gandhi)
To find out more on how you can become a Volunteer Mentor (we are currently looking
for Volunteers to work in Grays Essex, Twickenham and Weybridge) or to Make a
Donation then please contact Denise Riley on 020 8663 2606 or email
info@positivepete.co.uk. Alternatively, complete the attached form by clicking on the
Icon. We look forward to hearing from you.
There are a number of fully funded places available should
your circumstances fall within the required criteria.
Click here if you are interested in becoming a
Volunteer Mentor
Registered Charity
No. 1147851