This year The Adastra Foundation have partnered with SchoolKit to run six mentoring sessions for the 2016 scholarship recipients.
Schoolkit are a team of qualified, registered educators with an extensive network of professionals and are well qualified to deliver mentoring sessions that are innovative and captivating to add real value for the Adastra recipients.
Each planned session has a theme with a main focus and follows a format which includes real world examples and experiences while, at the same time providing focused and relevant content.
Recipients are able to subscribe to a private online Adastra iTunes U Course which houses materials, including videos, podcasts, photos and cheat sheets from all the mentoring presentations. If the recipients are not able to attend sessions, due to travel and training commitments, resources can now be accessed at a later date or as the need arises. Having this private online space means that recipients can continue conversations beyond the group sessions and can even answer individual questions with a one-to-one chat.
The first session “Distinctive” was all about creating a consistent, high integrity presence online.
Guest speaker Anna Connell, Social Communities and Content Manager at the BNZ, showcased a great list of people doing social media well in New Zealand and used their profiles to make her point regarding consistency, voice and the all-important bio. She went through the practical steps to set up a Linkedin profile so that when potential funders and sponsors ‘google’ you, the right information appears in a professional looking manner.
The second session “Determined” was all about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to sponsorship. Attendees were treated to some inspirational guest speakers including Ali Shanks, Olympic Cyclist World Champion. Kat Jenkins a Crowdfunding Strategist Skyped in from Wellington to share her practical advice and George Bettle, Chief Scribbler at Bettle and Associates talked about building genuine relationships. Emma Bettle covered 10 key pointers for creating a winning pitch to use with potential sponsors and the session wrapped up with importance of saying “Thank You”. All participants wrote two thank you cards, addressing them to a previous coach who has impacted their lives and a supportive family member or parent, which were posted out with the specially printed Adastra stamps.
Everyone is looking forward to the next session which will be held on the 20th June – Managing your finances, understanding debt.
Comments from the Day
“Would just like to thank you all again for the excellent night held in the Avantidrome last Tuesday night. I found the speakers relevant and interesting, learning you have to treat yourself as a business and invest time in yourself, along with many other useful tips. I also loved the layout of the session, keeping me captivated for the whole session. “
