“You can help shine a light down a different path for kids”
The 12 Buckets community is proud to have mentors and volunteers who share their time and talents with us to benefit the lives of the kids in our schools. They help set a strong foundation for all of the good work we do.
From time to time, we have a super bright and shining star that enters our world and gives their time not only in a mentoring capacity but also in a volunteer capacity.
Michael Duncan is one of those special people. He is a 12 Buckets mentor and volunteer, and the director of Meta Creative – the Perth-based web design and digital marketing agency.
Michael’s 12 Buckets journey commenced roughly five years ago when he heard about us from a colleague who knew our founder, Travis Fitch.
“I shared a studio with another creative group and my colleague mentioned that Travis was looking to connect with someone in my line of work, so I got in touch with him and we hit it off straight away,” said Michael.
After attending a few information sessions about 12 Buckets, Michael was ‘all in’ on the initiative and immediately recognised that there were numerous ways he could contribute.
“For me, it’s always been mentoring first and business services second,” he said.
Today, Michael is one of 12 Buckets longest-serving mentors with five years at Boyare Primary School under his belt. But in addition to his mentoring journey, Michael provides in-kind creative services to 12 Buckets via Meta Creative. His creative work includes, but is not limited to, the recently revamped 12 Buckets website.
When it comes to mentoring, Michael says that having a positive impact on the lives of his mentees is by far one of the most rewarding experiences you can have with 12 Buckets.
“Although it felt like slow progress in the beginning, it’s been fulfilling creating friendships and connecting with my mentees – particularly being a positive role model and showing them you can shine a light down a different path in your life,” said Michael.
For people considering mentoring or volunteering with 12 Buckets, Michael reiterated that in the grand scheme of things, a couple of hours a week isn’t a huge commitment. He said that if you live the 12 Buckets vision of ‘Fullness in life comes when you pour yourself out for others’, that you can always find the time to give back to the community.
“I recommend going to an information session, visiting a school or connecting with the team if you want to join as a mentor,” he said.
“It’s a small time commitment that’s not only good for you, it’s good for the community and most importantly the kids who see your small investment of time as a huge part of their personal journey”.
Do you want to become a 12 Buckets mentor?
We have so much information about what it takes to be a 12 Buckets mentor. If you’re considering joining us, we recommend that you read all of our information on 1:1 mentoring with 12 Buckets.