25 May 2022

Rachael Hanley-Browne, President of EMCC UK, writes about a new initiative to harness the resources of coaching, mentoring and supervision to provide help and support to the young people of Ukraine. Painting, ‘Mariupol’ (war art: for when words alone cannot convey grief and sorrow), by Kiki Maurey OBE MBA

We hold the values of EMCC UK close to our hearts – supportive, inclusive, progressive, professional. In the past few weeks, as the tragic situation in Ukraine has been evolving, EMCC UK has been discussing how we can best use our professional resources to help young people in Ukraine – especially as 2022 is European Year of Youth, with the European Commission announcing that ‘Europe needs the vision, engagement and participation of all young people to build a better future’.

The conflict has had a devastating impact on people of all ages, but we would like to make a meaningful contribution by offering specific help to the younger generation of Ukraine. Fortunately, we have two directors on the board of EMCC UK, Sarah Bailey and Hannah Butler, who both have experience and expertise in youth coaching and mentoring.

How do we do this? We propose an initiative, which we are calling Youth for Ukraine.

The Youth for Ukraine initiative will invite EMCC UK members to offer three or more coaching or mentoring sessions, free of charge, for the 18 to 30 age group in the UK, as a way of fundraising for young people in Ukraine. Also, we hope that in turn our supervisors will offer their services to our coaches and mentors. The 18-30 year-olds will pay it forward* by donating what they can afford to a group of specially chosen youth charities.

Alternatively, you as an organisation, or individual, may wish to sponsor our youth to receive free coaching or mentoring. Please contact me directly if you are interested in offering sponsorship. Every contribution is welcome.

We hope, with the help of EMCC Ukraine, to find and support three excellent youth charities working either in Ukraine or in Poland, which has welcomed the greatest number of Ukrainian refugees. In addition, some of those who might benefit from this initiative will be Ukrainians already relocated in the UK.

Our next step will be to post an online survey in August – look out for it in our August newsletter. Meanwhile, if you have any questions or comments, please let me know by email: [email protected]

* Pay it forward is when the beneficiary of a good deed repays the kindness to others, instead of to the original benefactor.