This year I will be taking on The Kiltwalk in Dundee (16 August) and Edinburgh (13 September).

I'll be walking in support of MCR Pathways, a national mentoring-based charity that believes every young person should have the same opportunities and life chances as every other young person, irrespective of their background.

I have been mentoring since late-2024 having signed up to an information session through my employment. Since then, I have seen the impact that mentoring can offer to young people (you can read about my experience here).

Why MCR Pathways?

Every young person has enormous talent, however care-experienced pupils and other young people identified to us by their schools may be struggling to engage with their education. We aim to support many young people including young carers, asylum seekers or those who have suffered significant family bereavement or disruption at home.

The ScotCen 2020 Research Study showed that prior to the introduction of mentoring, 59.8% of care-experienced young people progressed to full-time employment, college or university. This rose to 81.6% of our mentored young people.

By connecting each young person with a mentor, we can give pupils the support they need to succeed.

Until everyone has someone.

How can I support?

There are multiple ways that you can support this fundraiser:

1) Donate.

Every penny raised goes directly to MCR Pathways and the people, programmes, and infrastructure that supports care-experienced young people and young people in need.

2) Share.

Shared fundraising pages have a 96% activation rate (compared to 32% for non-shared fundraising pages). By posting this on your social media feeds and within your personal and professional networks, you are helping to spread the word about MCR Pathways and the work they do.

3) Message.

You can get in touch with me through my social media accounts (LinkedIn and BlueSky) to send words of encouragement and share your own stories of fundraising!