As volunteering week is fast approaching, we thought it would be most appropriate to quiz those in charge of it all and to find out more about the opportunities that us girls can get involved in. Our YUSU voluteering officers have given all you collegiettes an insight into what next week holds – be sure to find your face paint and grab you gardening gear… and keep an eye on what next week has in store.
What types of things can we get involved in during volunteering week?
This year we are happy to say that Volunteering Week has a variety of events that will suit everyone and what they are interested in! This ranges from a quirky activity which involves making chicken jumpers for rescued battery farmed chickens to an arty face painting workshop to develop your skills and a beer tasting session with the residents of a local hospice! Like our Facebook page for a full timetable of events and to keep up-to-date with what’s going on throughout next week.
Why do you think volunteering is so important?
University life shouldn’t just revolve around our course. Even though it is our priority, we believe that it is important to get involved in other aspects of university life. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and form new friendship groups with others who have the same eager interest to give back to the community we live in. Thinking about employability is also a very important factor for students, and what better way to improve your CV, than with volunteering with exciting projects and getting involved in fun events!
Can you tell us a bit more about the volunteering events within the colleges?
Each College JCRC has volunteering representatives who organise events throughout the year specific to their college. In terms of Volunteering Week we are finishing the week off with a Mega College Challenge where volunteers who attend will earn points that count towards their college and improve their chances of winning the Volunteering Cup at the end of the year. This year, the Mega College Challenge is a 1940/50s themed Tea Dance for the elderly which will include live music, dancing and refreshments.
What is your most popular project?
Currently, a lot of our projects are doing really well with strong committees who have big plans for taking the projects forward in the coming year. However, the winner of the Volunteering Project of the Year last year was MEG (Music Education Group) who have the largest number of volunteers working with the project at the moment. They are a project who work with different schools to give the children opportunities to develop their musical talents through the running of workshops and inviting school groups onto campus to take part in large-scale musical events.
What’s been your favourite volunteering experience?
Even though we enjoy being behind the scenes organising all the various events and making sure things run smoothly, we think the best experience we’ve had is the actual hands-on volunteering we’ve done! It is a great way to meet the community and work with different students. For example, with the very successful Snowball Project during last year’s summer term, we really enjoyed actually being involved in the renovation process, whether it was through the painting we did or the gardening activities we took part in. There is definitely no substitute for the sense of accomplishment one feels when they see the effects of their hard work!
Finally, can we expect to see any cuties during volunteering week?
Well, if you are talking about guys…. Then we are happy to say that one of our aims on our election manifesto was to get more guys involved and change the image of volunteering from being just another “girly” thing! So we hope that our work has paid off.. But I guess you will all have to come along to our events to find out!