Being a student at LSE is a lot and can be overwhelming at times, deadlines, societies, classes…the list goes on. So have you ever considered how volunteering can fit into your busy schedule?

Volunteering sounds like a time consuming activity but in reality it can take up such little time that you do not even realise, and you get all of the benefits of it too! I am going to tell you just how…

One-off volunteering

This is a really quick and easy way to volunteer here at LSE. All you need to do is check out the volunteering opportunities on the LSE Career Hub site and you can find all of the upcoming one-off volunteering events.

These are a nice way to do something different by volunteering 30 mins or an hour, on one day in a random week. There is no long-term commitment and all you need to do is sign up for the event on the website.

Recent examples of one-off events have been writing letters to penpals, going to a hedgehog conservatory and Write for Rights with LSESU Amnesty.

Online volunteering

In the day and age of remote working, more and more organisations are advertising online volunteering opportunities. Some of these involve translation, transcription, content creation, proofreading, copywriting and so much more. This is a convenient and time-efficient way to volunteer as you do not need to worry about being in a certain place at a certain time. Most conveniently, you can contribute your time at the time of the day that works best for you, so no more worrying about getting things done at a specific time of the day.

Killing two birds with one stone – work experience and volunteering

The stress about building our careers right now is real, spring weeks, internships and graduate schemes. Getting the experience that we can transfer to these roles is so important, which can be somewhat stressful and time-consuming.

So how does volunteering fit into this? Well, volunteering is a great way to rack up experience to put on your CV and talk about in your interviews. Even if it may not be directly related to what you want to do, you can talk about the core transferable skills it has helped you build. Or find the time to volunteer for a cause that links to the career path you want to take for example, web design or research.

Finally…why bother volunteering?

There are so many benefits to volunteering so I could go on forever but let me list what you can get from it. The feeling of dedicating time to a good cause is priceless, as well as the experience that you get from it. Whether the experience directly relates to your degree subject or career path, there will always be something that you can take away and apply to your future. You never know who you will meet or speak to when you volunteer!

If this sounds like something you are interested in then do check out the volunteering opportunities at info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/volunteer-centre.