"We are very grateful, and the donation will benefit many young people," says Tom Pedersen from the association.

Specifically, the money will be used to produce teaching folders for students in grades 7-9 in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality, among other places, where the association has helped around 60 children over the past nine years who, for one reason or another, are struggling in school.

"This may be because they have academic problems, are tired of school, have problems at home, or have had traumatic experiences such as their parents getting divorced, a parent being seriously ill or dying," says Tom Pedersen.

The National Association of Talent Scouts is a voluntary, non-profit, humanitarian organization that was established by three passionate individuals in 2010, with Tom Pedersen as the driving force. The purpose is to help young people discover their abilities and talents and put them to use in relation to future education and jobs. To this end, the association makes use of volunteer mentors from the business community who want to make a difference for young people.

The volunteer mentors hold 24 meetings with the young person, and this is where the teaching folder comes in handy. It is an extremely useful tool, as it describes in detail what the mentor and the young person should discuss at each meeting, explains Tom Pedersen.

Talent Scouts has entered into partnerships with a large number of municipalities to help children who are not thriving in school. A municipality pays DKK 5,000 for a course of instruction, but the actual cost is DKK 8,000. It is therefore important to obtain financial support from foundations and private individuals, says Tom Pedersen.

"We cannot run these programs solely with funding from the municipalities we work with," he says, adding that experience shows that it is very important to pair a volunteer mentor with a young person who is struggling to find their way in life.

For example, in Randers Municipality, many young people were assessed as not being ready for education. They underwent a program consisting of 24 weekly meetings of an hour and a half with a volunteer mentor, and a full 80 percent of the students were subsequently declared ready for education, says Tom Pedersen, who believes that the good results are due to the teaching materials and the interaction between the young person and an adult.