Volunteering is a great way to build your skills, gain experience and make a difference to a cause you care about!
What is volunteering?
Volunteering involves offering your time (on an unpaid basis) to take part in an activity which benefits people (individuals or groups) an organisation, or the environment. Many students and recent graduates see volunteering as an enjoyable way to gain valuable work experience and develop their personal and professional skills. Find out more about our BCU Volunteering programme and get your questions answered in our Volunteering Handbook.
Why volunteer?
- Meet new people, make friends and increase your network
- Build confidence and increase your wellbeing
- Stand out in a competitive labour market
- Gain crucial experience to enhance your CV
- ‘Try out’ possible career paths
- Make a positive difference to a community, organisation, or cause
- Find opportunities which are flexible and can fit around your studies
- Try something new and stretch your comfort zone
- Learn new skills or refine existing ones
- Gain recognition via the Graduate + award - Bronze, Silver and Gold!
What types of opportunities are available?
Many different activities and roles are available throughout the year with a range of commitments, from short term, one-off projects (a few hours, or several days/weeks) or more long-term, regular opportunities (several months to a year). Roles can include things such as taking part in a community clean up, befriending the elderly, mentoring a young person, managing a charity’s social media or organising an event – to name a few.
Whatever your skills, passions, interests and goals, the Volunteering team at BCU can help you find the right opportunity. Offering a tailored service, we work to source roles that are relevant to your degree or career prospects. Whether you want to commit to a regular voluntary position or the occasional one-off opportunity, there will be something for you.
Check out the variety of opportunities available online, locally, within the University and more within our bulletin below:
RECOGNITION
We love to hear about your volunteering experiences so let us know if you have started volunteering! Did you know you can also record volunteering activities and hours to go towards your Graduate+ award? Click on the relevant links depending on the hours you want to record: Bronze (Explore & Register) Silver (50 hours) Gold (100 Hours) Platinum (150 hours) Please note, you will need to be logged in to access the page.