Why the questions your teen asks matter more than the answers
The question a young person asks quietly tells their brain what to look for. Here’s the Why vs How flip we use in our schools program.
Safe space or brave space? What to consider.
The difference between a safe space and a brave space in youth mentoring, why you can’t guarantee safety in a group, and the small language tweaks I use instead.
PODCAST: Nurturing teen girls from the inside out with Nicole Dargie
Nicole Dargie spent 20 years as a media makeup artist before turning that world inside out. Now a youth mentor, yoga teacher and founder of Inside Out Beauty, she works with teen girls across Sydney schools and retreats to help them build self-worth that doesn't...
The stuff you already know, from the other side of the room
A Year 9 student pushes back from her desk. The chair scrapes. She's told you, loudly, that this task is stupid and she's not doing it. The whole room turns to look at you. If you teach, you've stood in some version of that moment more times than you can count. And...
PODCAST: Raising phone savvy kids with Dr Fiona Ghiglione
What do kids actually need before they get their first phone? In this episode, Amanda chats with Dr Fiona Ghiglione - mindfulness researcher, psychology professor and founder of Mothering Girls - about preparing preteens (and their parents) for the digital world,...
Why I just gave Shine on the Inside its biggest update yet
A few years back, when I first wrote Shine on the Inside, it was in response to schools wanting a way to deliver our popular community-based programs. We couldn't get in to every school, especially interstate, so I worked with some educators to create something that...
10 Things I’ve Said This Week as a Youth Mentor
Youth mentoring is one of those things that, if you haven’t done it before, can seem elusive. What do you actually do? Is it a form of therapy? I know it’s not a teacher… Is it kinda like life coaching? Who is for? What are you qualified in exactly? It’s an ancient...
PODCAST: Stop Overthinking It, Me!
Most of us overthink starting something new - especially when it comes to mentoring or creating impactful programs for young people. What if the biggest obstacle isn't the idea itself, but simply getting started? In this first episode of season 4, Amanda shares: how...
4 myths about building a profitable youth mentor business
VLOG: 4 Myths about building a profitable youth mentor bizBusting Myths: How to Build a Sustainable Youth Mentoring Business Are you passionate about helping young people but feel stuck by common misconceptions that hold many youth mentors back? If you're eager to...
What research is telling us that Gen Z & Gen Alpha need from the adults in their lives
The research on today’s young people is both sobering and hopeful. Here’s what youth mentors, parents and educators need to know — and why you might matter more than you think.
Co-Designing Youth Mentor Training: A Case Study
Generic leadership training misses what young people in specific communities actually need. Learn how co-designed peer mentor training creates sustainable, scalable programs with lasting impact.
Addressing the Youth Mentoring Gap
Young people today face an array of challenges and pressures that previous generations didn't have to deal with. You know this. 🙂 Skyrocketing academic expectations, cyberbullying, the aftermath of the pandemic, the constant access to information about war and...
A gift: our Values Lesson Plan
Over 100 schools in Australia now have our wellbeing curriculum, Shine on the Inside. And we often hear feedback from them about one particular part of a lesson that they love - our Values Story activity. One chaplain said: “Myself and our schools psychologist have...
8,000+ Teens Mentored: The Ripple Effect of Training Youth Mentors
We recently asked our youth mentors to fill in an Impact Report so we could provide a way for them to track their annual impact, and so we could gather this data as a community. Not everyone filled it in of course, but the data showed that if only one-third of our...
Can Introverts be Youth Mentors?
VLOG: Can introverts be good youth mentors?If you've been feeling the call to be a youth mentor, teen coach, or some kind of supportive adult in a teenager's life, then you might be asking yourself a bunch of questions. And if you also feel like your an introvert,...
The Power of Consistent Connection: How Weekly Check-ins Are Transforming Teen Wellbeing
Every Sunday afternoon, something remarkable happens in our online space, the Online Academy. A small group of teens from across the globe log in, not for another class or another assignment, or to scroll mindlessly, but for something far more valuable: genuine...
PODCAST: The First Year of Building a Youth Organisation with Holly Hashimi
In this episode of the Youth Mentor Podcast, we chat with Holly Hashimi about her first year founding HeartSpark, a not-for-profit organisation that grew from 8 participants to multiple groups and a waitlist in just 12 months. Holly takes us behind the scenes of...
Understanding Youth: a Mentor’s Guide to Different Age Groups
After the last blog post about the pathway to becoming a youth mentor, someone asked what age group they should focus on in their mentoring. It's something we talk about quite a bit in the Youth Mentor Training too, as part of the Duty of Care module, Engaging and...
PODCAST: Embracing the Grey Space with Sabine McKenzie
In this episode of the Youth Mentor Podcast, we're joined by Sabine McKenzie, an eating disorder recovery coach who brings a refreshing perspective to conversations around body image, food, and wellbeing. With eight years of supporting youth and adults through her...
From vision to reality: your path to becoming a youth mentor
If you've got any kind of inkling that you'd like to work for yourself and work with young people in some way, this article is for you. Maybe you already have experience with young people, or maybe you don't – it really doesn't matter. What matters is that spark...
PODCAST: Founding a peer-to-peer mental health charity with Milly Bannister
In this episode of the Youth Mentor Podcast, we chat with Milly Bannister, founder of ALLKND, a charity dedicated to supporting youth mental health through its free, online Good Mate Training program. If you want to know how you can be a good mate for your loved ones...
The 36 Months Campaign – Is It Really About The Teens?
The 36 Months Campaign - Is It Really About The Teens?Note from Amanda, here at Shine From Within: We know lots of parents are quick to support this campaign and we absolutely see the merit in it. AND we wanted to get more information and insights from young people....
PODCAST: Consent, Creativity and Community: Inside Evie Wilson’s Stardust Squad
In this episode of the Youth Mentor Podcast, Amanda interviews Evie Wilson, the creative force behind Stardust Squad. Evie shares her journey of starting Stardust Squad, the inspiration behind the project, and how it has grown into a thriving community for young...
PODCAST: Supporting Young People Through an Aboriginal Cultural Lens with Louise O’Reilly
In this episode we're joined by Louise O'Reilly who shares her perspective as an Aboriginal woman on how we can best support and mentor young people, drawing from her own lived experiences and past work as a youth worker. She shares: Louise’s experience of growing up...
PODCAST: 2024 Trends for Supporting Youth with Amanda Rootsey
Join us in this inspiring episode of The Youth Mentor Podcast as we recap the 2024 Youth Mentor Conference and share with you: some of the things that are working well for youth mentors, speakers, coaches, and educators as we head into 2024; some of the insights that...
We’re moving overseas! What this means for you
Hi! Amanda here. I wrote this letter to share with our lovely community and thought I'd pop it here too for anyone not on our email list (join at the bottom of this page!). I started Shine From Within over 10 years ago, here on Gubbi Gubbi Country, on the Sunshine...
PODCAST: Lessons from Growing a Mentoring Program Quickly in Ukraine with Olha Ruda
At the age of 25, Olha Ruda founded 10:11 - a mentorship program for high school students in Ukraine or who have fled the country. From a one-person show to now having over 150 mentors, they’ve delivered more than 1300 hours of mentoring. In this episode you’ll get...
PODCAST: Crafting your Impact and Building Credibility with Wil Massara
Join us in this inspiring episode of The Youth Mentor Podcast as we sit down with Wil Massara, a visionary social entrepreneur who started his journey at just 11 years old. Wil takes us through his incredible story, from revolutionizing youth leadership with the Youth...
PODCAST: SEASON 3, EPISODE 17: Allyship and mentoring in regional Australia with Mikhara Ramsing
In this episode we chat with social entrepreneur Mikhara Ramsing about mentoring young people in regional Australia, writing programs for young people from cultural diverse backgrounds, running a tea social enterprise which funds suicide prevention and Ethnic LGBT+ -...
17 Ways to Help Teens Connect with Their Spirituality
17 Ways to help teens connect with their spiritualityWhen we conducted a survey with our community recently, we asked what you would love to learn more about. And some folks shared that they'd love some ideas on how to help young people connect more deeply with their...
3 Ways to Build Your Confidence as a Youth Mentor
3 Ways to build your confidence as a youth mentorDo you feel like you're standing at the precipice of a new venture, passionate about mentoring youth and sharing their journey, yet feeling those butterflies of nervous excitement? What a place to be! You perhaps...
The Teen Inspo Card Decks
Our New Teen Inspo Cards!Bring a little joy and inspiration into your day with this magical card deck, created for teens, by teens. Watch the short video above to hear the story of the cards. Look what our teens made!!! Would you love a unique and meaningful way to...
PODCAST: SEASON 3, EPISODE 16: Supporting migrant and refugee youth with Enda Gilbert
In this episode we're joined by Enda Gilbert, an educator, parental burnout practitioner and coach. Enda shared important and practical tips on how we can best support migrant and refugee young people. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Spotify | View all...
VLOG: What is a Youth Mentor?
What exactly IS a youth mentor?!
A youth mentor is not quite a youth coach, life coach, counsellor, therapist, youth worker, social worker, or teacher. Instead, they embody a unique combination of all of these roles, while also being a remarkable cheerleader and compassionate space holder, driven by an unwavering passion for empowering and uplifting young individuals.
Meet our Mentors: Shivani Jobanputra (she/her)
Meet our Mentors: Shivani Jobanputra (she/her) Interview by Madhumalika Bharani Would you like to introduce yourself? Tell us where you’re from and a little more about yourself? Hi, I’m Shivani. I am talking to you from Colombo, Sri Lanka. I’ve been here for 10 years,...
PODCAST: SEASON 3, EPISODE 15: Hosting rites of passage experiences for teens and their parents with Jaclyn Cunningham
In this episode I chat with Jaclyn Cunningham about: * the framework of a transformative Rites of Passage experience for teens and their parents, like a Mother-Daughter Retreat * how she runs retreats like this * tips for facilitators * why parents love them and * how...
PODCAST: SEASON 3, EPISODE 14: Meet 3 Youth Mentors
Meet 3 youth mentors - a former early childhood teacher, a life coach and a UN development worker. People become youth mentors for all sorts of reasons, and come to this work from all sorts of backgrounds. We want to introduce you to 3 of them today. Some have been...
PODCAST: SEASON 3, EPISODE 13: 3 Things you need to be a great youth mentor
One of the things I hear the most from folks who know in their bones that they want to work with young people is that they’re not sure if they’re qualified/good/old/young/perfect enough. So, here are 3 things you need to be a great youth mentor! Enjoy this short...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 12: Beyond Body Positivity: dismantling the ladder of body hierarchies with Nicola Haggett
Join us for a thought-provoking episode of The Youth Mentor Podcast, where Amanda sits down with body liberationist and Body Trust coach, Nicola Haggett. In this snippet of a conversation recorded at the 2022 Youth Mentor Conference, they delve into the complex topic...
The 2023 Youth Mentor Conference is coming!
The Youth Mentor Conference is coming!by Amanda Rootsey OMG! Our Youth Mentor Conference is back again and I would like to extend a warm invitation for you to attend. 🙂 I'm blown away, yet again, by the speakers we've pulled together for this year's conference. I'm...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 11: Helping Young People Deal with Uncertainty with Sarah Found
In this episode, we're excited to share with you insights from Sarah, a youth mentor and researcher who has recently completed a dissertation on helping young people build hope and resilience in the face of ambiguous loss and uncertainty. With the ongoing pandemic...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 10 – Telling it like it is to parents, dropping the labels and being unapologetically YOU with Reece Anderson
In this episode, Amanda chats with Reece Anderson about all sorts of things - it was a big, deep, fun chat! We covered: self-leadership, connecting with teens and also the interesting ways that Reece brings the parents along for that journey and really looking at the...
Meet Some of our Pay What You Can Mentors
Meet our Mentors: Pay What Your Can Sponsored Places We want to support MANY teens by training as many youth mentors as we can in our Youth Mentor Training program! We're committed to making this training accessible and we provide a Pay What You Can application...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 9 – Honouring your Youth Mentor Archetype with Amanda Rootsey
In this episode, find out what your youth mentor archetype is and how to use it to be the best youth mentor you can be for the youth in your community. Understanding this early on can cut your learning curve so much, help you focus where you're going to have the...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 8 – Supporting teens to regulate their nervous system with Gina Nelson
In this episode, Amanda is joined by licensed therapist and teen resilience coach Gina Nelson. Gina shares about how we can start to help young people to map out their nervous system, catch when they're going into fight or flight mode and self-regulate their emotions...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 7 – Mentoring 1:1 with teens – what works and what doesn’t with Bec Coldicutt
In this episode of The Youth Mentor Podcast, we chat to Bec Coldicutt from Rebel Starseeds in Auckland, New Zealand. It's a big episode and we cover a lot, including Bec's previous careers in law and as a teacher and then starting her youth mentoring business, Rebel...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 6 -The power of journalling for teens going through challenges with Jenna Lee
In this episode we chat with author, coach and mentor Jenna Lee about supporting women and teens to confidently express themselves through writing. Jenna shares her story around being a teen and not knowing how to express herself, how journalling helped transform her...
What I learned at the 2022 Youth Mentor Conference
What I Learned at the Youth Mentor ConferenceBy Juliette Perera The 2022 Youth Mentor Conference presented by Shine From Within allowed youth mentors all over the world to connect. By coming together online I was able to learn from the experiences of the amazing...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 5 – Celebrating Menarche with First Moon Circles with Charlotte Pointeaux
In this episode we chat with Charlotte Pointeaux about holding first moon circles to celebrate and support young people around their first period. Charlotte shares generously about: // the magic of circles // how to set up the space so it’s really respectful and open...
Our Next Generation + YOU!
Our next generation + YOU! On June 29 2022 Amanda was joined by one of our wonderful youth mentors, Tanya Meessmann, to share her journey from corporate to growing a successful youth mentor business. Tanya shared generously about the highs and challenges (mostly...
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