In this blog, we hear more about the LSE Careers Team and the time they spent over reading week volunteering at the Felix Project and the London Wildlife Trust. As the Careers Team reminds us, LSE is supportive of staff taking up to 5 days a year for volunteering! You can connect with the Volunteer Centre for help on how to find a volunteering opportunity that fits your needs.

In reading week, LSE Careers took part in 2 volunteering days.

First, 7 of us went to volunteer at the Felix Project in Deptford. The Felix Project is a charity which collects surplus food that would otherwise be wasted from corporations and redistributes it to charities and schools so they can provide healthy meals to vulnerable people. The Felix Project warehouse in Deptford delivers food to over 240 charities across Deptford, Southwark, Lambeth, Greenwich, Lewisham, Bromley, Wandsworth, Croydon and more.

In practice, for us this meant spending the day working in a warehouse either sorting or picking. Some volunteers spent most of the day sorting through an enormous pile of celeriac. Others spent their time putting together orders from local charities. This entailed locating items in the freezer, chiller or other parts of the warehouse, and stacking trays atop dollies.

The other volunteering day was completely different. 7 of us volunteered for the London Wildlife Trust down in Dulwich Wood, next to Sydenham Hill Wood and part of the ancient Great North Wood. We spent the day installing path edging. This was in order to stop paths from becoming too wide and encroaching on trees and plants in the woodland. We carried large logs, sawed branches, split wood, made stakes, bored holes in the ground, wired the stakes around the long thick logs…it was a very physical day! It was wonderful to spend the day outside, pausing at lunchtime to soak in the sounds, sights and smells of the woodland.

All in all, everyone who volunteered enjoyed giving back to good causes, getting to know members of Careers who perhaps they didn’t know as well before, spending time outdoors in Sydenham…and more.

The first day of volunteering counts towards one of LSE Careers’ ‘Gold’ actions for the Green Impact award. Whilst the second day counts towards our Green Impact Platinum Project called ‘LSE Careers Goes Circular’. We are hoping to win another Platinum Award this year!

LSE supports and encourages staff to take up to 5 days paid days a year (pro-rata for PT staff) to undertake voluntary work, subject to the go ahead from managers. Taking a day of volunteering leave would not affect your holiday allowance, although you’d need to record it for monitoring purposes and to be eligible

If LSE Careers has inspired you to volunteer, check out one of our other ongoing opportunities or book a one-to-one with David Coles, the Volunteer Centre Manager if you have more questions. And why not follow us on Twitter, and Instagram to stay up-to-date with our events and opportunities and read our blog for more volunteering tips and stories.