She just needed someone to believe in her: Zoe's Story

New-U Enterprises is a registered charity helping young people facing challenges to find employment or training. Last year we gave them a grant of £3,500 from our Community Cares Fund to fund their ‘You’ve Got This’ workshops.  

The workshops provide essential skills training – such as interview practice – within a fun setting where the young people can be themselves. For young people facing challenges such as low self-esteem, the opportunity to meet others who share their experiences is life-changing. Through mutual support, they can develop the confidence they need to achieve their full potential.

This has made a huge impact for Zoe, a young person who was supported through our funding: 

Zoe suffers from social anxiety. This makes her appear very shy and she finds it hard to communicate.  

Zoe first came along to ‘You've Got This’ after being referred by the Job Centre. Although she found it challenging to be amongst new people at first, after a few weeks she started to gain confidence. Together with her mentor, Zoe created a list of goals and the practical ways she was going to achieve them. 

With this renewed self-belief, she could see a way to overcome her anxiety! 

Zoe loves books, so her New-U mentor arranged a work placement at the Millennium Forum library in Norwich for 6 weeks. Not only did it enable Zoe to build her confidence, but she also achieved a lifetime ambition to work in a library. Zoe is now volunteering in the Honesty Library at New-U once a week and loves to help organise the books in a supportive community environment.

Her mentor says it all: "I am so proud of her ... I think she just needed someone to believe in her and let her move at her own pace. I tried never to put too much pressure on her. She seems so much more confident now, almost like a new person.” 

Donations from our customers and members are changing the lives of people like Zoe. Click here to find out how you can make a donation.