In honour of Volunteers Week, we are sharing some stories and advice from LSE Alumni Volunteers! Volunteers Week is a chance to recognise, celebrate and thank the UK’s incredible volunteers for all they contribute to our local communities, the voluntary sector, and society as a whole. Keep reading to learn more about experiences from alumni who volunteered during their LSE journey.

Abigail Williams, BSc Politics and History 2022

“Volunteering really helped me give back to causes that I was passionate about. As a student from an underrepresented background, it was really rewarding to be able to help students from a similar background to myself. Moreover, it solidified my interest in higher education and access, which is the field I currently work in.

I had also used the well-being service in my first year and found the help/advice invaluable, and really wanted to make sure that other students knew they had access to it too. That was a really rewarding experience!”

Carrie Linney, BSc Environment and Development 2020

“I volunteered for LSE Food Cycle Society. From this we created a food collection network from the cafes on campus and collaborated with charities in Holborn and UCL to raise awareness to food waste and donate to food kitchens in the area. Food Cycle is an established charity in Kings Cross and does amazing work to support the local community. My particular role was as Treasurer, but we had a very small and collaborative team so I didn’t let my fear of finance turn me away as I just wanted to get involved!

From this experience, I made good friends and was provided with structure beyond lectures that I could look forward too and I got to know more people who worked at LSE. Most importantly it made me appreciate the power of grassroots activism. Both in seeing the impact of our work and gaining a sense of meaning and responsibility for my community. These absolutely shaped my influence and confidence in looking for jobs after LSE and looking beyond “magic circle” “Big 5″ ideology that I was trying to fit into but just wasn’t for me. I was also able to apply my knowledge from my degree in how power structures worked within spaces of activism, in particular the importance of listening to what steps were currently being taken and learning how I can fit into these existing systems and where my place was best suited for an existing community.” 

Rosemary Day, BSc International Relations 2013

“In addition to the benefits that volunteering can have on your current LSE experience, I’d like to inspire folks to realize the longer term benefits of building volunteering into the routines of your life. Because I started volunteering when I was student, it continues to be a responsibility I take seriously in my life today. Building the pattern and learning the rewards early meant I continue to seek out fun and rewarding opportunities to donate my time.

I now live in New York and currently volunteer at a high school as a mentor, at a free charity shop that provides clothes to new migrant arrivals and am hoping to volunteer at the upcoming NY Marathon in the summer. It’s a great way to gain new skills, meet new people and broaden your horizons at whatever age you are. But it’s so much easier to build that happen while you have the time and flexibility that university affords you.”

Paul Blandworth, BSc Sociology 1984

“The voluntary work I did at Centrepoint Soho helped to confirm an earlier wish I had to work with young people. Initially I had considered studying for the CQSW in order to qualify as a social worker. However, the two year course for that qualification was too long a time to be without a full-time wage, which was why I opted for the one-year teacher training course. I feel that spell of voluntary work was worthwhile for me personally, if only because I feel it helped me to recognise the value of giving something back to society and to doing something to help others. In particular, by extending some limited form of assistance to those young and often traumatised young people who might not have been as fortunate as me in terms of the educational opportunities, emotional support, and social connections from which I benefitted as a child and young adult.

Without wanting to sound preachy, for what it’s worth, what I would say to current LSE students is that if you believe that establishing solidarity with the rest of humanity is something that matters, then by taking on some form of voluntary role, however limited, you begin to make a difference to the lives of others in a way that may serve to transform society for the better. And I should perhaps add that engaging in voluntary work that helps other people provides its own feel-good factor for the individual doing the voluntary work.” 

If LSE alumni 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.