Breadwinners does what it says on the bread tin – literally.
When I heard about Breadwinners and its no-brainer model, I was mightily impressed. It felt like it would be a fantastic mentoring opportunity for me, as I have always wanted to give back and to work with refugees and asylum seekers.
I began volunteering as a mentor with Breadwinners in October 2019, after meeting the team at a volunteering fair I managed while at The Fore. Naturally, I was delighted when the time arrived to embark on this journey. The 12-week mentoring programme started off with a fantastic training session, which was led by Martin and Charlotte. It was an eye-opening evening, which delved into Breadwinners, its Risers programme, safeguarding and what being a mentor entails.
I was excited when I received the news about my mentee Kiyan, who is a young man from Iran. We were pencilled in to work at the Breadwinners’ stall at the food market in Victoria Park, east London. We met up nearby and walked down, hitting it off instantly. We chatted about his education, goals, and likes (bonding further over our shared love of Soolking). The market was bustling, and we met up with Martin and the other mentoring pairs – which was a bonus!
Our shift started right away – the mentees donned Breadwinners aprons and got familiar with the delicious array of bread available. This was a great area of learning as a mentor, as I would later be able to appreciate Kiyan’s growth in confidence and all that he had learned as a participant in this programme. The mentees were encouraged to engage with the customers, who approached the stall frequently and with friendly faces. Kiyan learned how to take card payments, prepare bread samples, make quick sales and answer queries about the produce.
After a few weeks at the market in Victoria Park, we began attending stall at the food market in Lloyd Park, Walthamstow. This market was much smaller but had the same electric feel. We worked with new team members and got stuck into new tasks, like stamping the logo on the bread bags, giving out loyalty cards and asking customers if they’d like to participate in a customer feedback questionnaire. After each session, Kiyan and I chatted (once even over shawarma!) about his aims for his future and career, and what kind of steps he will need to take to achieve these targets. The most rewarding aspect was seeing Kiyan’s growth and development – in both confidence and conversation.
Breadwinners is remarkable – the mentees also had access to learning opportunities, like finance training and health and safety training. Kiyan achieved a solid 95% score after completing his health and safety training test, which is a massive accomplishment! The Breadwinners programme is phenomenal, fulfilling and immensely rewarding; I’d recommend it to anyone!