When someone says ‘volunteering in the community’ to you it might conjure up images of picking up litter or scrubbing graffiti off walls, but the reality is nothing could be further from the truth.
Especially for students, volunteering in your local community can be an extremely rewarding and mutually beneficial use of your spare time, vastly improving your skill set and your future employability.
Too often students are misconceived to be lay abouts, only interested in watching day time TV and getting drunk, but you, better than anyone, know how false this is and by volunteering a few hours of your time you make a noticeable difference to your community, dealing with challenging situations and making life a bit easier and more pleasant for someone else.
Check out our guide to giving back, include the top reasons why as a student you should volunteer, how to help and also what the benefits are.
Advantages of Volunteering
At a time when university leavers will be entering the toughest graduate market for more than a decade, having a stand out CV can mean the difference between getting your foot on the career ladder and stagnating in a job which might not have the best prospects for you.
Having volunteered your time you’re able to prove yourself to be self motivated, selfless and supportive of your local community.
As James Caan from BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den, points out, “When I see two graduates whose CVs read the same, I look for activities like volunteering which gives the CV a unique selling point. As an employer, listening to a graduate talk about volunteering means you can start to see their personality and helps you to visualise them in your company.”
Ways to Help in the UK
There are lots of charities which work to make Britain a great place and offers a range of different ways in which you can give your time to a worthwhile cause.
By volunteering in a hospital retail outlets you can gain valuable skills and experience in customer service, volunteering in a team setting and in a busy environment. This is particularly for those interested in a career in health and social care.
You could try delivering meals on wheels where you visit someone’s home with a prepared meal for them, or work for the home library service which helps older people have access to books, recordings and other library products.
Alternatively by working with the befriending service you could help an older person whose family perhaps live too far away to help, by lending a hand with a range of tasks – collecting pensions, going on outings or attending when workmen or officials visit. Taking someone to a doctor’s appointment or just calling in for a chat and making sure they are safe and well can make all the difference to their day.
These are just a few of the ways in which you could volunteer and there are a range of other services you could help with to suit your skills and interests.
Volunteering Overseas
If you are looking for a fun way to spend your summer break or even looking for options after graduation there are lots of amazing ways to help good causes through volunteering abroad. Summer volunteer programs are popular with students and lots of short term trips are available to help people, communities, wildlife and nature.
If the idea of taking a gap year appeals to you after uni, there are hundreds of inspiring programs available, with popular options including helping elephants in Thailand!
How to Apply
You’ll be able to find out about opportunities with a number of other organisations online and at freshers fairs which happen every the year. This is a good list of volunteer abroad programs if helping overseas appeals to you.
Alternatively you can register your interest in volunteering through university societies or on websites like Facebook pages. Just fill in a Volunteer Enquiry Form and someone should be in touch with you shortly.
Don’t forget to follow volunteering orgs on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest volunteering news.