Student volunteer week is a special week which has been running for the past 21 years. This week is very important in raising awareness about the need for volunteering. Run by a student board, this fun week helps to get students out there, contributing to their society.
Student volunteer week will take place between the 12th to 18th of February. It is held close to National Student Volunteers day which is celebrated on the 20th of February every year. Additionally, in the UK, Volunteers week is from the 1st of June to the 7th of June every year.
Continue reading this article to find out the details of this special week. If you are a student, look forward to understanding why volunteering is so important for you, as well as what kind of opportunities are out there.
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What is student volunteer week?
This is a national celebration that takes place every year. Student Volunteer Week 2024 is the 23rd year that this celebration has taken place.
What does student volunteer week involve?
Student volunteer week celebrates student volunteering. This celebration is organised and run by SVN or student volunteering week.
They primarily aim to increase the number of students volunteering. They do so in three main ways:
- Improving student wellbeing – Student Volunteering Week aims to do this by organising several local activities. These are usually very interactive and fun, helping students to socialise. It also encourages students in other places to set up their own activities and celebrations during this week.
- Developing student’ employability – Student Volunteering Week aims to do this by providing students with more opportunities to volunteer. They can increase awareness of the ways in which students are able to volunteer. Volunteering makes students more appealing to any future jobs that they apply to.
- Contributing to the wider and local environment – By encouraging students to volunteer more, Student Volunteering Week helps to increase contribution. Students become more excited and passionate about volunteering for their social issue.
Find out more about the specific details of Student volunteering week by visiting the SVW website.
What do you do at students volunteer week?
During Student Volunteer Week, the whole country can get involved. SVW provides a large far-reaching platform where you can present your own creative projects and events. This time can be used to share your ideas and partake in challenges with all other students in this sector. This includes but is not limited to university, college, and student unions.
This week encourage student committees to organise activities or workshops to help increase the amount of student volunteers. Volunteer groups with many students involved, will be able to celebrate the contributions of the year.
What is the history of student volunteer week?
Student volunteering in the UK has had a long history. Today, the contribution that students make to their local community is greater than ever before.
Student Volunteering week was first organised 22 years ago and remains a prominent and growing celebration, to this day.
Should students do volunteer work?
The truth is, there is little reason for a student to not have completed some amount of volunteer before leaving thigh school. A lot of volunteer work is already incorporated into the academic year. This is because most schools cooperate with nearby and local charities to organise student volunteer opportunities.
Outside of school organised volunteering programs, students should also contribute individually. Any student can do this by researching volunteering opportunities in their local area. The student should first find a social cause that they are very passionate about. For example, important social issues include Racism and Hate Crime Prevention, Suicide prevention or Poverty reduction.
Students can then help to support their social issue by volunteering in their local neighbourhood. All students should try to spare a little bit of time in their week to complete a certain amount of volunteer work. This ensures that they grow up to be kind, ethical, contributing members of society.
Check out this Think Student article to find out why students may want to do volunteer work.
How do students benefit from volunteering?
Volunteering has many benefits. Firstly, it can hugely benefit society and the local neighbourhood. This is because the student will improve and target a specific social issue. This allows the student to feel better about themselves as they are doing kind work out of their own will. This means that volunteering will help students become a more contributing member of society.
Secondly, volunteering can count towards work experience which can be added to a CV, job application or university application. Volunteering experience makes students more appealing to potential future careers. This means that the student is more likely to be successful in what they hope to do. Find out more about gaining work experience by reading this Think Student article.
Student volunteering can also provide a new hobby for students. Although volunteering can sometimes be tough and hard work, it is very fulfilling. Many volunteering activities are very interactive and fun. This can help provide students with a new hobby to spend their free time. Also, students can make new friends as they get more involved.
Thirdly, volunteering can help the student learn and gain new skills. For example, by working in a charity shop, a student will learn many new skills. This may include how to price items, how to steam clothes, how to tag clothes and how to organise items in a shop. The student will learn basic communication skills that they will continue using for the rest of their life. They will also be able to develop customer service skills.
Finally, external volunteering opens opportunities for a student. It allows students to experience things and learn thing that they otherwise would not have been able to, at an ordinary school life. For example, by volunteering, a student gains more connection. This is because they meet new people and work with new colleagues. This can help in the future when a student requires a recommendation for a job, or even when searching for a new job. Connections are always beneficial.
How can a student volunteer?
University students can easily find volunteer roles at local charity shops, or offices. Some common charity shop chains include Cancer research, British Heart Foundation (BHF) and The British Red Cross.
Find out more about the Cancer Research charity, and how to apply to be a volunteer by visiting the Cancer Research UK website.
If you would like to apply to The British Heart Foundation, or would like to find more information about it, visit their website visit their website here.
To find more information on the British Red Cross, visit their website here.
On the other hand, a student may choose to organise their own charity work through the university or by setting up a bake sale or thrift sale. This counts as volunteer work as the money earned will be donated to charity.
While high school students, especially under 16s, find it harder to find volunteer opportunities in charity shops, there are still available options for them. For example, they can get involved in a school bake sale or charity sale.
Also, in the UK, there are several charity shops which allow younger children to volunteer, as long as prenatal consent is provided. These charity shops include Oxfam and Barnardo’s. To find out more about Oxfam, visit the Oxfam website here. For Barnardo’s, visit the website here.