Who we are
We are an Oxford-based charity who partners with schools, colleges and youth groups often in disadvantaged communities, to support and guide young people aged 11-23
This might be a result of low confidence and self-esteem, pastoral and behavioural issues, low academic attainment or simply because their teacher, support worker or caregiver feels they would really benefit from some mentoring or life guidance.
Young people in our programmes also self-refer after learning about the benefits of working alongside a mentor.
Our Team
Mentors
Trustees
Where we are now
The seeds of a youth mentoring project were sown in September 2020 with just one volunteer youth mentor in a pilot school working with students aged 11-18 in East Oxford.
Since then the project has grown and started to receive private funding from charitable donors in January 2022. The organisation then formally applied for charitable status and became a registered charity in August 2022 under the name the Iuventas Foundation.
A team of professional adolescent mentors, funded by the Iuventas Foundation, now work 1-1, as well as with small groups of students, on a weekly basis in a mentoring and coaching capacity in secondary schools.
As the project has grown, the organisation's aim is expanding the provision of mentoring, coaching and mental health support services into other educational institutions and communities with a similar demographic and background.
We are therefore seeking new opportunities to work with secondary school students at other schools, as well as college and university students, apprenticeship students and other young adults seeking guidance and support with life’s challenges, transitions and decisions.
Why Iuventas?
Iuventas is a play on two Latin words, the iuven- stem meaning 'young woman' or 'man', and the verb iuvo meaning 'I help, support'.
The primary focus of our foundation is to support and help young people.