Volunteering Opportunities at the Students’ Union

There are a great deal of benefits to volunteering, from increasing your confidence to learning new skills and making a difference. However, you probably know that already, from your A-level tutors rattling on about it as you were writing the sixth draft of your personal statement.

At university, volunteering can be so much more than just another completed section on your Linkedin profile. It can help you to confirm your priorities and ambitions in life, allowing you to try a variety of activities without the pressure to commit long-term.

The Students’ Union offers a variety of student-led, flexible and inclusive volunteering opportunities, including community support, working with children in schools, and fundraising for an array of remarkable charities.

Student Action

Student Action runs a huge number of student-led weekly projects and one off events helping people in the local community. From supporting refugees and asylum seekers in improving their English, to providing Manchester’s homeless rough sleepers with a hot drink and friendly chat in the freezing winter months, Student Action offers something to fit everyone’s interests. They also run projects involving the environment, vulnerable women, adults with accessibility needs, elderly people, and children.

Access All Areas

Access All Areas supports any project which aims to tackle some of the barriers young people and adults face when it comes to University access and participation. That could consist of almost anything, from creating homework clubs for young people, to supporting arts subjects in secondary schools, as long as it helps to overcome educational barriers and inequalities.

RAG

Manchester Raise and Give (RAG) is the fundraising arm of the Students’ Union, and is made up of students bound together by the mutual desire to raise money for charity and make a difference in people’s lives. Past fundraising challenges have included hiking the famous 55 mile walk around Manchester (the Bogle) and climbing Kilimanjaro—for those less athletically inclined, things like pub quizzes have also been really successful! Details of challenges and fundraising opportunities will be released throughout the year.

Societies

In addition to the above groups, there are also a vast number of volunteering and fundraising societies. You can find details about Sexpression, the society aiming to line your pockets with condoms at the welcome fair, Cancer Research UK, Save the Children, and a plethora of other societies on the Students’ Union website.

Find more details and links to join any of these volunteering groups here.

The Volunteering and Community Engagement team at the University of Manchester can help you to find volunteering opportunities. They work with lots of charities and not-for-profit organisations providing local and international student volunteering roles—find out more information here.

The Students’ Union alone is an Olympic-sized pool full of opportunities, with something for everyone—use the time you have at university to build up your experience and knowledge. Where else would a fresh faced 20-year-old have the opportunity to become an editor of a newspaper, or a mum of three do something silly to help fundraise RAG’s 2015/16 annual total of £400,000+ for charity?