Friday 05-02-2021 - 16:46

Thousands of students across the UK volunteer with local, national and international charities and social enterprises. If you work for a charity or social enterprise, here's how you can get involved in Student Volunteering Week 2021 (8^th-14^th Feb)

 

Before you get involved

• Think carefully about what your aims are for your involvement. Are you trying to recruit more ongoing volunteers? Do you need some one-off volunteers to help with a particular project? Do you want to recognise and praise your current volunteers? Do you want students to take action on the issue that you're tackling?
• Having a clear aim or two will help you to make the most of #SVW21 and focus your plans
• Update any relevant website/social media pages
• Make sure you're ready for potential volunteers. Having a clear recruitment; selection; induction; and training plan, as well as (as far as possible) clear information on how Covid-19 related restrictions may or will affect volunteers, is crucial to a positive volunteer experience.

 

Here are some suggestions for what your involvement in #SVW2021 could be. We'd encourage you to come up with your own ideas too and share them with us!

1. Recognise your current volunteers

Shout about them on social media, in your newsletters, share posts with the SVW Team on our social media or using the hashtags #SVW2021, #StudentVolWeek and #LoveYourCommunity. How do your volunteers show they love their community?

 

2. Explain the role that volunteers play in supporting your organisation’s vision and mission.

You could ask your volunteers to share their story or take over your social media for a day - let them spread the word about what they give and gain while working with you!Think about making a Student Volunteering Week-themed blog, post or range of posts, and share them with us on our social media. This is a great way to showcase the impact you have working with students and the community.

How have volunteers contributed to this period of intense change for your organisation? Why has their support been so important this year?

 

3. Send thank yous to your volunteers

You could do this collectively or for even greater impact, individually

 

4. Reach out to colleges and universities in your area

A simple google search of your local universities and colleges will bring up their volunteering teams. Contact them and find out what it is you can do to be involved with student volunteering in the future.

 

5. Open a path for collaboration

 Students bring a vast variety of skills that you may not have from other volunteers. The most successful student volunteering programmes involve working together with groups of students to let them co-create volunteering projects with you.

Help them understand the challenges you face and what you want to achieve then work with them to tackle this. You may just be surprised at how innovative the ideas can be.