Drawing on their experience in organizing the Secondary School Student Project Competition, the authors present the way a network of volunteers developed around the competition and the role volunteer mentoring played in supporting project-based learning. The aim of the initiative launched during the 2022/2023 academic year was to create a learning environment that promotes students' collaboration, creativity, self-awareness, and career orientation. The competition is unique in that student teams work on independently chosen projects, and their work is supported by volunteer mentors who provide professional and methodological support. The case study highlights that mentoring plays a key role in improving the quality of projects, especially in the areas of planning, documentation, and presentation. At the same time, challenges include student overload, time management issues, underutilization of opportunities, and difficulty maintaining communication. In addition to presenting the mentoring process, the authors discuss methods of supporting volunteer mentors, including maintaining motivation. Experience shows that the standard of mentored student projects and the quality of presentations improved, participants became more confident, and project-focused pedagogical approach was strengthened. Volunteer mentoring has become an important part of the competition: it can sustainably support student learning and development, while creating community value. It is a source of experience and knowledge for both students and mentors.

Keywords: volunteer mentoring, community of volunteers, project pedagogy, student project competition, career guidance