Students as Change Agents Conference

Friday 8th June 2012

Why active citizenship in the 21st century really matters

Vicky Burrows and Abi Hinton, Community Action Officers

2012/13

Projects...

Opinions from those who benefit...“This is the best week of my life” Child on Summer

Adventures

"...Knowing I am coming here on a Wednesday gives me something to look forward to, it gets very lonely being in the house on your own all week!"

"...This is just what I need, no-one comes to visit me anymore so it is just wonderful that this is on“

SSASS Members

Reasons to volunteerCVTransferable skills – team working,

organisation, time management

BUT THIS IS NOT THE BEST THING!...

A choice for life...Making a differenceSelf development Meeting different people and

participating in new activitiesChanges perception on life New opportunities Increase employability from the skills

you learn

It’s not just us...“The research finds that students contribute

significantly to university life and the wider community through the hours they give to groups and organisations, as well as the informal volunteering they offer. Volunteering plays a vital role in developing student’s community awareness, allowing them to break out of what many respondents describe as the ‘student bubble.’”

Jon Snow quoted in Georgina Brewish, Jennifer Russel and Clare Holdsworth, Bursting the Bubble: Students, Volunteering and the Community Full Report, (Institute of Volunteering Research, November 2010).

Georgina Brewish, Jennifer Russel and Clare Holdsworth, Bursting the Bubble: Students, Volunteering and the Community Full Report, (Institute of

Volunteering Research, November 2010).

Volunteers...I love volunteering as it

allows me to improve my transferable skills and give

something back to the community. It is so

rewarding to see the children enjoying

themselves and getting something out the sessions we run. Volunteering with CA has been the highlight

of my university life!

I volunteer because it is a gratifying feeling knowing you have helped others, whether they be children or elderly

people, or someone who you may never meet. For me, it has

opened up many avenues in my University life and I am

very grateful for the opportunities presented by the

Students’ Guild.

I enjoy volunteering as I get to work with lots of different people and have made lots of new friends I wouldn’t have

made if I hadn’t done volunteering. I have been

able to take advantage of lots of opportunities, and have

benefitted personally , being able to develop lots of skills

that I wouldn’t have developed otherwise. And its

fun and enjoyable!