KUSU Volunteers making the news!

After our recent award ceremony on May 11^th KUSU Volunteers got a write up in the local press. Here is the clipping from the Surrey Comet. You can read it online here. The online version is accompanied by a picture of volunteers who contributed time to the Knit for Babies project. 

As well as local media coverage for our awards KUSU volunteers also featured in Saints Alive which is the local news letter for All Saints Church. The article resulted from our Student Volunteering Week link up with Cathedral Camps. 

Finally you can check out the hard work of three KUSU Volunteers Leo, Maheen and Paula who all took part in local museum Dorich House’s Cultural Olympiad (that’s the arty bit of London 2012 in-case you didn’t know) project. The project documented how our homes reflect our personalities and our interests, and Dorich House is the perfect museum for this because it’s a home turned into a museum- the house used to belong to sculptor Dora Gordine and her husband Richard Hare, also an art collector. Each volunteer involved chose an object from the museum to investigate. The chosen objects are now on display at the Geffreye Eye Museum in London. You can read all about it here.

KUSU Volunteering Awards 2011 - Gold Awards

Our winners showing off their Gold Awards!

As well as handing out a selection of awards to KUSU Volunteers that have shown exceptional committment in the different areas of volunteering that we offer we also handed out three very special Volunteering England Gold Awards on May 11^th. 

Volunteering England's Gold Award is a national student volunteering award that recognises the Achievement, Dedication and Leadership of Student Volunteers. It's a prestigious mark of excellence in student volunteering. 

This years winners were -

Will with his Gold Award

Will Scott-Barrett

Will was nominated for his dedication to his role as part of the Kingston MET Volunteer Programme which he started in April 2010. Alongside this he has done a number of one-offs so has packed in an impressive amount of volunteering in a relatively short amount of time (he was Best Newcomer at last year's KUSU Volunteering Awards!). 

He has gone beyond his original role as a Front Counter Assistant at Kingston Police Station and taken on additional roles within the MET Volunteer Programme. He's shown endless energy and enthusiasm and helped with volunteer recruiment, induction and buddying and with steering group activities. He frequently puts in nearly 40 hours a month as a MET Volunteer (and he would probably do more if they let him!).

Will has also assisted with C019 (Specialist Firearms Command) unit a couple of times! Nikki Gobey, Volunteer Coordinator at Kingston MET said 'It is a pleasure to have Will on the team and even though he is looking to transfer to C019 permanently, for selfish reasons I am actively encouraging him to remain at Kingston, or at the very least, consider being shared between the two programmes.' 

Christine Daniel 

Christine with her award!

Our second Gold award was given for achievement. Christine has been part of KUSU Volunteering for the past three years and has got involved with an epic amount of things. 

She has been a valuable member of the Swingbridge Boat Project, supporting ex-offenders. She has taken part in several one-offs and she’s run her own project, Project Phoenix, providing information and raising awareness of mental health conditions, suicide and self harm.  

Christine has consistently been an enthusiastic volunteer, putting her heart and a great deal of energy into everything she’s done. She has truly made volunteering a way of life and has been a strong advocate for why it’s a great thing to do. Her volunteering extends beyond KUSU Volunteering and she has recently become a Special Constable with the MET Police, and so impressed her trainers they offered her a job! 

Paul collects his second award!

Paul Matthews

Our final Gold Award winner had a really good night at the Awards coming away with two shiny medals! Paul Matthews so impressed the judging panel that as well as Community Volunteer of the Year, he was awarded a Volunteering England Gold Award for Dedication and Achievement.

This was to acknowledgement not only of the time he gives to the community through his roles in St John Ambulance, but also in acknowledgement for the fact that he demonstrates to the public what student volunteers can do despite all their other commitments. 

In the words of his Duty Officer Joe O’Shea, Paul is someone who demonstrates that students can be people who “put themselves out and go that extra mile to seek out a voluntary role that requires more than just once a week commitment .They put themselves forward to serve their community. From time to time students do get bad press, drinking cider, eating pot noodles and walking home with traffic cones on their heads. However people like Paul (and our other St John Ambulance Volunteers) Gary, Maria & Crystel are ambassadors for students showing that there is more substance to being a student.’

Nicky collects her certificate

Special Commendation went to Marketa Setinova and Nicola Archer who have both put in exceptional effort over several different volunteering roles. Marketa has been a dedicated volunteer at Hersham Hounds and Nicola has got involved in numerous one-off projects and ran her own project putting on a Jazz Tea Party at our local Age Concern Social Centre. 

That rounds up our volunteering awards for this year! I think you'll agree we have a pretty exceptional bunch of students doing great things out and about around Kingston there. Looking forward to plenty of the same next year!

KUSU Volunteering Awards 2011

Last night some of our amazing volunteers came together to celebrate the great work that they’ve got up to this year. There were cupcakes, food, drinks, balloons, awards and of course lovely volunteers! University Pro-Vice Chancellor David Mackintosh kicked things off for us with an opening speech that praised our volunteers for all their hard work. 

Every student who gives up their time on a KUSU Volunteering opportunity gets a certificate commending their efforts (if you couldn’t attend and would like to claim yours just contact the office). We also gave out special awards to those deserving particular recognition in several different categories. Here’s a rundown of who got what –

Contribution to One-Off Projects

Melat and Emma

Winner – Emma Lindner

Over the year Emma has clocked up the most one-off projects of any KUSU Volunteer! She’s been a particular supporter of local children’s Cancer charity Momentum helping them at several fundraisers and building a Santa Grotto at Christmas. She always receives great feedback from anyone she volunteers with and does a great job of telling everyone why volunteering is great.

Special mentions

Melat Tesema – Melat has also been a prolific one-off volunteer this year helping at several events over the year and always getting great feedback.

Crystal Law – Crystal has been a particular supporter of Refugee Action Kingston and is always commended by the staff there.

L-R - Gary, Paul, Derryn, Crystel and Will

Community Volunteer of the Year

Winner – Paul Matthews 

Paul won because of his dedication to St John Ambulance. Above and beyond regular duty Paul is completing training to be a voluntary ambulance crew member and is a member of the Central London Forward Incident Team. The ‘FIT team’ are highly trained first aiders who respond when people are seriously ill in crowd situations like the London Marathon or Notting Hill Carnival. 

Special mentions

Gary Chew, Maria Angeles and Crystel Marcos – Were also noted for their ‘great deal of commitment and dedication’ to St John Ambulance. 

Derryn Lovett – Derryn has been ‘invaluable’ to the running of the Thames Ditton Scout Group giving up a tremendous amount of time, leading groups on day hikes and playing a part at weekly meetings. 
Will Scott-Barrett – Will was commended for his contribution to Kingston MET Police Volunteer Programme. 

Jennifer Truong – Jennifer was noted for the great work that she does with the 3^rd Teddington Beavers and the extra responsibilities she’s taken on as part of the group.

Sanaz collecting her award

Schools Volunteer of the Year

Winner - Sanaz Sedigh Zadeh

Sanaz has been a mentor at Tolworth Junion School for two years. Over that time she has worked with several different pupils but this year in particular has offered assistance to a year Six pupil called Martin who speaks very little English. Sanaz communicated with him in his native Swedish, translating work, encouraging him and truly enhancing his experience of school. Unfortunately Sanaz couldn’t make the ceremony due to imminent exams but we’ll be passing on her award to take home and show off!

L-R - Rachael, Harby, Tegan, Sophie and Alison

Project of the Year

Winner – Rachael Penzo (Knit for Babies)

Rachael inherited the long-running Knit for Babies project and has really made it her own demonstrating considerable enthusiasm for her craft and always with a smile. She has recruited and trained many new knitters and together they’ve doubled the number of hats produced this year. All the hats will be delivered to the charity Born Too soon at Kingston Hospital for use in the Special Care Baby Unit at Kingston Hospital over the summer.

Rachael and some of the knitters!

Special mentions

Alison MacDonald, Tegan Arnold and Sophia Peszkowski (MIND Pantomime Project) – The Christmas Pantomime that this group devised with users of the MIND Drop in centre involved everyone either as a performer, audience member or in making props. It was thoroughly enjoyed by those who watched and took part and the group gave a great deal of time to making the project a huge success. 

Harby Bashir (Kingston Young Carers, ICT Project) – Harby planned and ran two great sessions for Kingston Young Carers over the Easter break. They used IT to make wrapping paper and cards and received vital respite time from their responsibilities.   

Best Newcomer

Winner – Paul Laroy

Paul collecting his award

New KUSU Volunteer Paul has really thrown himself into our activities. As well as clocking up many one-off opportunities including the London Marathon and Kingston Winter Night Shelter (where he was commended for filling in at the last minute) he also undertakes ongoing Community Volunteering with the British Red Cross Next Steps Scheme. Paul was unable to attend the ceremony but was recognised in his absence.  

Special mentions

Chris Ovington – Chris has got stuck in with KingstonUniversity Biodiversity Action Group this year and gone as far as qualifying as a Eel Conservation Volunteer. 

That rounds up the wonderful volunteers noted for KUSU Volunteer Awards in all the different areas of volunteering we offer. On the night we also gave out three very special Volunteering England Gold Awards. An update on these will follow soon... 

Thanks so much to everyone that attended. Many more volunteers who put in great work over the year were kept away by impending deadlines but we truly appreciate the contribution of all our volunteers over the year. To check out all the photos from the evening head to our Facebook page.

March one-off volunteering update

KUBAG Volunteers survey their hard work!

Another busy month for KUSU volunteers getting involved with our one-off volunteering opportunities. 

First up three volunteers helped with a Cancer Research Fun day. They took off round Kingston town centre to sell pin badges and raise money for this great charity. 

On the same weekend Kingston University Biodiversity Action Group took a tour of campus to sow wild flower meadows.Taking in Kingston Hill, Middle Mill Halls and Penrhyn Road the wildflowers will not only brighten things up they will provide insects, birds and small mammals a vital place to shelter and find food.

You can read a full report of the day and find out what else KUBAG get up to by checking out their blog here.

Sopwith Blossom by Paige Sinkler

KUSU Volunteers have been involved with the Paint the Town Green festival which saw lots of exciting green events take place. Kingston Students were involved in organising the Green Shoots Photography Competition which invited entrants from across Kingston. All 43 entries were on display for a week in Market House in the centre of Kingston including University Biodiversity Category winner Paige Sinkler. A KUSU volunteer helped make this possible by stepping up to answer visitor’s questions and supervise the exhibition.

Finally at the end of the month 5 volunteers went to help at a Refugee Action Kingston clothing day. RAK provides support and advice to refugees and asylum seekers in the local area. On clothing days RAK distribute clothing, toys and other items to those most in need. KUSU volunteers got involved helping out sorting donations, setting up the venue, greeting those attending and distributing the items. Eleni who volunteered on the day reported back that ‘Volunteering at Refugee action Kingston was one of the best experiences in my life. All the volunteers there were very friendly. I was involved in the toy section and it was amazing being with the children!! You should have seen the smile on their faces :)’

Its great to hear the toys went down well because some of those were donated by staff and students at Kingston University. Just before Christmas we organised a toy collection on behalf of RAK and Chase Childrens Hospice. We were thrilled with the response! Donations were split with the first half being delivered to Chase by Societies Coordinator Gemma in time for Christmas and the RAK ones being delivered on the Clothing Day by KUSU General Manager Mark. Big thanks to everyone who made a donation and to Gemma and Mark for making the deliveries.

What's it like volunteering for Nightline?

London Nightline is a confidential listening, support and practical information service for students in London. You can literally talk to them about anything from a good taxi firm late on a Friday night to the moments when all those deadlines just get a bit much. 

They are open between 6pm to 8am every night of term and there are loads of ways to get in contact. You can call on 0207 631 0101, email them, chat via Skype (search for londonnightline) or instant message them through the website. This amazing service is made possible because of student volunteers. 

The best way to find out what it’s like being a Nightline volunteer is to hear from one directly. However this KUSU Volunteer report is slightly different as Nightline volunteers are anonymous! However we didn’t think that should stop them getting the opportunity to shout about the great work they get up to so here’s a little insight…

I’m a third year Kingston student and I volunteer for London Nightline. Nightline is a confidential listening and support service for students, run by trained students. People call Nightline for various reasons. They may call to talk about their problems, or simply to chat about how they are feeling.

Joining Nightline is one of the best decisions I made while studying at Kingston. Through training and being on the line, I learnt so many skills that will remain useful for the rest of my life.

It was also great getting to meet fellow volunteers,  many unique people from universities across London. There are students from various backgrounds studying different courses, but we all have one thing in common – which is passion for helping others. There is also a co-ordinator who is very supportive so you never feel alone.  Fun activities such as trips and night outs are organized for the volunteers on regular basis, which helps you socialise and establish a bond with other volunteers. 

If you have a desire to volunteer and help fellow students – you might enjoy and learn from joining Nightline. I personally feel that I have progressed and grown so much stronger as an individual through having the opportunity to be a part of such a fantastic organisation.

Sounds pretty good I’d say! Applications to volunteer are currently closed but they’ll be recruiting again in October. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and mailing list if you’re interested and we’ll let you know all the details and how you can apply.