Horsesmouth.co.uk

Horsesmouth.co.uk is a safe, moderated online venue for informal one-to-one mentoring covering all the important aspects of life, from health and wellbeing to career choices, employability and business support.

Website: www.horsesmouth.co.uk

It has over 45,000 registered members aged 16-76, of whom around 25,000 are profiled and approved as mentors. To date the site has facilitated and hosted over 200,000 supportive relationships between individuals.

The site is open and free to the general public (16+) and allows individuals to browse profiles, make relevant connections and conduct safe conversations. People can also publish their personal stories, rate and thank each other, manage their time, and build their mentoring reputation through the Mfactor.

Horsesmouth creates new social capital from "unused" human potential. This simplest form of human exchange is made easy, convenient and available to everyone.  The site facilitates connections for reverse mentoring and for mentoring across barriers that may not be typically crossed in everyday life.  By allowing people to profile as their "whole" selves it also encourages more connections to be made. A cancer sufferer is also a business owner. A teenage dad is also a young apprentice.

In addition to initial seed funding, the site has been funded through partnerships with organisations that have used it to host mentoring communities around specific topics or themes. For example the National Apprenticeships Service on Apprenticeships and the Department of Health on Dementia Care.

The Award: Horsesmouth has been awarded £50,000 to increase the activity of the existing mentor community by actively managing it, directing specific mentors to mentees and promoting mentors to mentees on other social channels around key themes. It will also help to secure and explore new revenue streams.

Contacts

• Mary Teresa Rainey