During Week 4 of Lent Term (10-16 February), universities across the UK will be celebrating Student Volunteering Week 2020. It’s a whole week dedicated to celebrating the amazing work students do in their local and wider communities for free, by focusing on the way student volunteering:
- Improves student wellbeing
- Develops students’ employability
- Contributes positively to the wider and local community life
The LSE Volunteer Centre and your Student Volunteering Ambassadors are bringing Student Volunteering Week here on campus, at LSE. We’ve chosen to focus on the benefits of volunteering for students and the charities that they give their time to. We’ve spoken to some students before about why they volunteer and what they are passionate about, but during the week we want to explore what they feel they have gained from their volunteering.
So what’s happening during the week?
All week, we’ll be exhibiting your Student Volunteering Ambassador’s experiences on the bottom-floor staircase and you’ll be able to find them on our social media too (@lsevolunteering). For updates about the week, keep an eye on our Facebook event page!
Monday 10 February
LSE Volunteer Centre Stall: to launch the week we’ll be outside SAW talking to students about your volunteering experiences and the kinds of benefits you felt that you gained. It’s also a great chance to learn about volunteering, discuss opportunities and meet you Student Volunteering Ambassadors.
Tuesday 11 February
Charity stall: come and meet Oxfam, a globally renowned aid and development charity with 70 years of experience, working and campaigning with partners in over 90 countries worldwide.
One-off volunteering with The Felix Project: It wouldn’t be Student Volunteering Week without some volunteering, so we’ll be taking a group of students to help out at the Felix Project, a food waste charity that collect good quality food and deliver it to other charities, who provide vulnerable people with a healthy snack or meal.
How to find a volunteer opportunity in the law sector: at 6pm we’ll be investigating how to find an opportunity, run in conjunction with the LSESU Lawyers Without Borders Society.
Wednesday 12 February
Charity stall: Richard House Hospice will be outside SAW to discuss how you can volunteer for their charity which cares for children with life-limiting conditions and provides support for their families.
One-off volunteering with Post Pals: Come and get creative, by making a card for our Post Pals. They’re a great charity that work with seriously ill children across the UK who love to receive cards and letters! Children suffering with chronic illnesses can often feel isolated, so the charity works to help bring a smile to their face by connecting them with people who send cards.
Thursday 13 February
Charity stall: ReachOut will be outside SAW to discuss how you can volunteering for their mentoring charity that works with young people from disadvantaged communities.
Discover ID: is voluntourism ethical? We’ll be screening the Voluntourist, a short film that explores the stories of international volunteers and the potential problems in the industry. It will be followed by an open discussion surrounding the ethics of volunteering overseas and there will of course be pizza!
Friday 14 February
Charity stall: the Literacy Pirates will be ending the week for us, by telling you how you can become a pirate! They are an education charity that works with young children to help boost their confidence in literacy, in a fun-pirate setting.
Celebrating and reflecting on student volunteering. With the LSESU UN Society we’ll be running this informal seminar over lunch exploring the successes of student volunteering and what we can learn about our experience.
Social media round-up: head over to our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to see a round-up of the amazing events and information on how you can continue to celebrate and participate in student volunteering throughout the whole year!
Saturday 15 February
One-off volunteering with the Helen Bamber Foundation. Join this human rights charity to help them with archiving their files and find out more about their important work.
How can I get involved?
There are some obvious ways of getting involved, like coming along to our stalls, volunteering sessions and events. But if you’re already passionate about volunteering and want to share your story, get in touch (volunteer@lse.ac.uk)! We’d love to hear about your experiences and how you feel you’ve benefited from your time as a volunteer. There’s also lots of ways that SU societies can get involved with the week which you can read about in this blog we wrote.
Don’t forget, you can always get involved on social media by using the #SVW2020 hashtag or by tagging us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter via our handle @lsevolunteering. And you can always drop us an email to let us know what your doing to celebrate Student Volunteering Week via volunteer@lse.ac.uk.
3 Comments