Caribbean Culture Day - Student-Led Volunteering Project

Hi my name is Latisha and I am in my third and final year studying Business Management at Kingston University. On 14th August 2012 I volunteered to help out on a Student-Led Volunteering project - the concept of which was a Caribbean Culture Day for young teenagers with Afro-Caribbean heritage.

The day started at 9am in Hackney, where I met up with Nadine (the project leader and fellow Kingston University student), the other volunteers and the young teenagers taking part in the project. When everyone arrived, I helped to escort the teenagers to the Tabernacle (an iconic music and arts venue), situated in West London. Thankfully, my travel expenses were covered by KUSU Volunteering!

Soca Dancing warm-up

The Caribbean Culture Day was split into three activities. The first activity consisted of Soca dancing, whereby the teenagers took part in a dance workshop taught by MLM (Muzik Lil Muzik). They first learnt a bit about Soca music and the annual Notting Hill Carnival, before taking part in a warm up session to get them ready for the dance choreography which followed after. I made sure everyone kept hydrated by giving out cups of water. I also got to take part in the dance workshop! The choreography was amazing and once mastered everyone did a cooling down session.

In order to adhere to the Caribbean concept, Caribbean cuisine was also provided; my lunch was again paid for by KUSU Volunteering! Providing a Caribbean lunch was a great idea - not only were the children learning about Caribbean culture throughout the day, but they also got a taste of it! There was rice and peas, salad, chicken, and a tasty fruit punch to wash it all down. Thankfully the weather was lovely so we were able to sit outside the venue and eat.

Mas-making

The second activity was Mas making: Carnival costume making and the chance to learn more about the art form at London’s very own carnival village. Before starting the young teenagers were introduced to ‘Broken Feathers’ who were the main leaders of the activity. ‘Broken Feathers’ design and create costumes for the performers at Notting Hill Carnival. ‘Broken Feathers’ taught the class about the art of mas making, before letting the young teenagers try it out for themselves! Everyone was split into four groups. Each group had a different concept; agility, power, speed or balance; they also had a letter, V, O, F or A which represented the overall theme of ‘Virtues of Athleticism’.

Each volunteer choose a group to help. I helped the group that had the letter A and concept Agility. My group had to design the letter A on a big piece of paper ensuring that it also showed the concept of agility. This was my favourite part of the day as it brought out the creativity in me! You could see everyone was thoroughly enjoying the day. Each group had a chance to show each other their work which involved a lot of cheering and clapping followed by a little break for everyone to rest.

The last event was Steelpan playing. The children first listened to the history of the steelpan and Soca musica, before watching the professional Mangrove Mas Band play. The kids then got the chance to play and record themselves playing the steel pans. Considering the fact that none of them had played steelpans before, they were all quite good for first-timers! The day ended a little after 6pm - we all took pictures outside the venue and then escorted the children back to Hackney. Check out the photos from the day on the KUSU Volunteering Facebook Page. 

I enjoyed taking part in the Caribbean Culture Day, as it taught me more about my culture and was great to see the young teenagers so interested in their heritage. From previously volunteering in a school, I love helping and working with children and from the sound of it I knew this event would be interesting and enjoyable. Volunteering is a way of giving back and helping others. You get to experience a different environment and meet new people who can be inspiring and motivational! I would definitely recommend volunteering to anybody. This experience has made me want to continue volunteering in schools and helping people with disabilities. The whole project as a whole has also inspired me to do my own Student-Led Volunteering project. In what, I am unsure, but I’m meeting Jemma Houghton one of the Volunteering Coordinators from KUSU Volunteering soon to talk about it further, so I will keep you posted!

My Buddy and Me

My name is Bisi Olukanni and I'm in my third year of my Psychology degree at Kingston. I volunteer for Kingston's Buddy Scheme. 
The main idea behind the buddy scheme is that you meet with someone who has some form of learning disability and as their buddy your role is to help them enjoy life. On average I would say I meet with my buddy Millie twice a month. Millie has Aspergers Syndrome. At first glance she doesn't appear to have any disability. However, individuals with this type of disability tend to be very socially withdrawn and as a result become isolated. As her buddy I meet with her and take part in a variety of activities so that she feels happy and comfortable to go and have fun with a friend. 

The type of things we have done so far are ice skating, swimming, going to the cinema and Chessington World of Adventures. Our next meeting we have planned  to meet up just for a gossip and a little retail therapy!

Millie and I at Chessington about to go on a ride

What got me so interested in volunteering as a buddy was the thought that many young people with learning disabilities don't get opportunities to socialise and make friends. I wanted to do what I could to help others to build social skills. It's very rewarding knowing that you do make some one's week by planning a day out, and your friendship could provide them with the confidence to go out and make their own friends and prevent them being taken advantage of! Additionally, I study Psychology and  this role seemed like a fantastic way to get experience working with people who I am likely to work with in the future and have fun at the same time!

Since I started volunteering as a buddy I've learned a great deal about the types of issues that can arise when working with someone who has a learning disability for example, mood changes. Before being assigned a buddy you undergo training which helps you combat any problems and explains who to contact if you need further assistance. After completing my training I felt very confident and I have yet to experience an issue I couldn't resolve. After making friends with Millie I feel much more open about who I talk to and who I befriend and it has really widened the type of people I have around me and improved my own social skills.

What I enjoy most about volunteering with the Buddy Scheme is that it allows me to take a break from the stresses of uni work and have fun with a great friend. The activities you do are a joint decision so you can have input on what activity you want to do. It's a mutual relationship, you are NOT their carer but an honest friend that will help them understand how typical friendships develop i.e. sometimes you have to compromise! Also, the Buddy Scheme cover your expenses, so excuses- it's a chance to make a friend, learn about them and their disability and have fun for free!

Millie feeling anxious about getting on the ice!

Over the past few months that I have been meeting with Millie we have had some great moments - the funniest moment was when we went ice skating at Guildford Spectrum and neither if us mentioned that we hadn't done it in a long time - that was our first mistake! We were a little apprehensive about stepping on to the ice so managed to persuade the staff to let us use a 'Penguin Guide' - this is usually what really small children use. For the whole two hours Millie and I spent the whole time 'skating' with a tiny penguin in front of us....it was rather embarrassing especially as I still managed to fall over...but was such great fun and we made the most of it. We won't be going ice skating again in a hurry!!   

Me putting on my skates

Upon completion of my degree I am hoping to go on to do clinical training, which would mean after another 3yrs I will be a Clinical psychologist! I can't wait to start on my career path. Volunteering has helped confirm that this is a job I want to do and has made me more employable through this experience. 
Most importantly it has helped me see the benefit of volunteering and why it is so important for communities that we have volunteers to help others lead a fulfilling and happy life. For a few hours a month you get fantastic returns and I will continue to volunteer as long as possible.

I hope to see more Kingston Students volunteer in the future, it's worth it! 

Green Impact Auditing

Third Year Kingston University student Aija

Hello everyone my name is Aija! I’m originally from Latvia and this semester I will be a 3rd year student at Kingston University studying International Business on placement.

I really like how Kingston University operates in a socially and economically beneficial manner in terms of their immediate local setting and in wider regional and global contexts, as well as acting as a lead in the local community in terms of best environmental and sustainability practice. I too am passionate about the local environment and recently took part in a really interesting environmental volunteering opportunity.

  

On 16th July 2012 I volunteered on the ‘Green Impact Auditing’ opportunity which was advertised by KUSU Volunteering and facilitated by the Sustainability Hub at Kingston University. Kingston University run ‘Green Impact’, an environmental accreditation scheme, which allows departments to make their workplaces greener. The aim of the ‘Green Impact Auditing’ event was to showcase how much Kingston University does in terms of recycling, investing in more efficient equipment, encouraging biodiversity and Fairtrade etc. The ‘Green Impact Auditing’ volunteering opportunity took place over one day and consisted of two parts. In the morning KUSU student volunteers received free training on how to audit ‘Green Impact’ activities, before receiving a free and delicious lunch, which we all enjoyed, before getting to actually conduct audits of the departments in Kingston University in the afternoon!

Even though it sounds scary and serious, the training was brilliant and we conducted the audits in pairs so that we could support each other. I’d already noticed how eco-friendly Kingston University was when I first arrived here, and it was an honour to get the chance to help Kingston University receive recognition from Green Impact for its energy-saving and recycling policies and efforts.

I’m really glad I volunteered on this. It added another dimension to my knowledge of sustainability for which I am thankful. I recommend you try volunteering at least once. It’s fun, you learn new things, develop your skill-set and it may even prove useful in helping you score additional points when you go for interviews.

In the future I intend to continue with One-Off Volunteering opportunities as they are never the same and bring joy to participants for the volunteering they have done and the help they have given to the community.

I’m looking forward to receiving a certificate at the Green Impact Award ceremony in October 2012 for my volunteer contribution - It’s something that I can put on my CV!

The Thames River Clean – A Guide to Student-Led Volunteering

KUSU Sub-Aqua and Kayaking Club Volunteers

I am well known for my ideas of sheer inspirational genius. They are ideas of such intellectual brilliance that tiny mortals cower in terror at their mere suggestion. As a result, conversations in my club (Sub Aqua) often go a little like this;

Myself: “Soooo, Tom”

Tom (our beloved Diving Officer): “No.”

Myself: “Hey, I haven’t even said anything yet!”

Tom: “You’re right, my bad, go on.”

Myself: “I was thinking…”

Tom: “No.”

….and so forth.

In all seriousness, I had a good idea, possibly a great idea……but it was a tiny bit ambitious.

I have volunteered through KUSU Volunteering before and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I’ve helped paint a school gym and cut down Christmas trees etc and it’s been great….but. That’s been my problem. But….

You see I’m a SCUBA diver. I love diving. I love teaching it and I love the fact that from time to time, people even pay me to do it and what I really, really wanted, was a way to use my sport to do something... to make a difference, as well as shine some positive light onto KUSU.

So I had this idea. I’ve been underwater in parts of the Thames before – acting as a Rescue Diver for charity swim races, including Human Race swims and The Big Swim – and while I’d been under I’d often seen bits of litter and debris down there. So I figured that my club could put some divers into the water, pull some junk out and then bask in the praise that would be due us. After all, how hard could it be?

Quite hard as it turns out. Why I ask questions like that, I have no idea.

What I’m hoping, right now, as you read this, is that you’ve got an idea. An idea that you can’t quite bring yourself to suggest to people because obviously it’s crazy. Or an organisational nightmare. Or (shudder) might involve that most terrifying of beasts – whisper it, health and safety. So here is my advice to you;

Do it.

Volunteers from KUSU Netball, Ladies Football, American Football, KUSCO, KUBAG, Veolia and Thames 21.
Chris Elliott the student who created this project can be seen top row on the right hand side.

If I took nothing else away from The Great River Clean of 2012, it was this; that every time I found an obstacle that prevented me from going ahead, there was someone to help me past it. Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of work involved. It was an ambitious idea after all. But the simple truth is that if you have the enthusiasm and the patience to make your idea happen, then it can.

When I needed help slaying the health and safety Daemons, I was able to get advice from the British Sub-Aqua Club and from KUSU Volunteering Co-ordinator Jemma Houghton. When it turned out that I needed to write a Method Statement to get permission, Lynsey Stafford from Kingston University Biodiversity Action Group (KUBAG) showed me how (if you’re thinking “what on earth is a method statement”  then believe me, I sympathise). Surface cover on the river – the Kayaking club offered their support. Shore support? Thames 21, a local river cleaning charity offered us training, equipment and advice. When I needed help working with the council, Jana Bentley at KUSCO opened doors, as well as invited Veolia Environnement to provide both skips and manpower for the day. More manpower needed onshore – Susie KUSU Sports Co-ordinator mobilised assistance from the Netball, Ladies Football and American Football clubs. Diving equipment and transport needed; local Dive shop Aquanauts SCUBA and Snorkelling Centre provided. No parking available; the Royal Bank of Scotland the Co-Operative Bank and Hart’s Boatyard supplied. Private space to raise money for RNLI; the Ram in Kingston let us use their back garden. Problems, problems, problems. Solutions, support, assistance.

Bucket collection for RNLI. 

I’m not going to tell you that getting your idea off the ground will be easy. Maybe it will be, maybe it won’t, but it can be done. So take that first step. Head into the KUSU Volunteering office and say hello. We took an ambitious idea and with a level of assistance that frankly surprised a cynical Cornishman like me, made it happen. And if the two skips overflowing with junk don’t convince you, the photographs will.

Two skips full of rubbish pulled out of the Thames in Kingston

So many, many thanks to all those who helped in both the planning and the damned hard work on the day. To quote Joss Whedon “We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty”.

Blog by second year Kingston University student Chris Elliott.

Student-Led Underwater River Clean Volunteering Project!

Diving into the unknown depths of the River Thames, Kingston University students have quite literally pushed the boat out by organising Sub Aqua’s first underwater river clean.

It has taken 12 months to organise but the Kingston University Sub Aqua Club (KUSAC) has finally been given the go-ahead for the Thames underwater litter-pick.

On 17 September 2012, from 10am-5pm, trained members of the Sub Aqua diving club will be plunging themselves into the River Thames here at Kingston, in both a credible and exciting attempt to clean the bottom of our local river.

Their efforts are part of a nationwide campaign, The BSAC Underwater Litter Pick 2012, to remove litter from the waterways and coastline around Britain.

Previous litter-pick river divers have removed shopping trolleys, bikes and tin cans, all of which are dumped in rivers and pose a threat to marine and wildlife.

Chris Elliot, who is going into his 2^nd year at Kingston University has been leading on the project. He said: “I wanted to be able to find a way for our club (KUSAC) to be able put something back into the community.  An under-water river clean is something that our club has the skills and passion to do.”

Chris is running the project through ‘Be A Champion’, an Olympic-inspired initiative to get sports clubs involved in volunteering activities. Kingston University Students’ Union (KUSU) was recently granted silver accreditation by the National Union of Students (NUS) for its support of Olympic Inspired activity.

Sub Aqua has had to gain permission from various agencies such as the Environment Agency, Metropolitan Police and RBK Council in order to run the project but has also gained enormous support along the way.

KUSU Volunteering has supported Chris on his project from the outset offering expert advice and sourcing student volunteers to help on the day. Jemma Houghton one of the Volunteering Coordinators from KUSU Volunteering said: ‘I’m so proud of Chris. He’s worked extremely hard to get this project off the ground, juggling this Student-Led Volunteering project with his university degree course, working part-time and taking part in many other extra-curricular activities. We’re just keeping our fingers crossed for good weather now!’  

Lynsey Stafford, Biodiversity and Landscape Administrator in the Estates Department of Kingston University has also been heavily involved in the project, giving expert environmental advice and helping with the logistics of the project. Several volunteers from Kingston University Biodiversity Action Group (KUBAG) will also be helping out on the day.

Members of Kingston University Kayaking Club will have kayakers on the river bank protecting the divers from other boats on the water and members from Kingston University Netball Club will be volunteering on the river bank, collecting the waste and putting it in the skips. Jana Bentley, Head of Waste Management at KUSCO (Kingston University’s main service provider) has also been instrumental in her support of the project.

In addition to University support, companies and environmental authorities have offered their services. Veolia Environnement are providing two skips and will take the rubbish away for free and a couple of their staff will also be helping on the day. Thames21 are providing a range of equipment, including protective gloves and footwear, wheel barrows, litter pickers and high visibility jackets and Aquanaut are giving air cylinders to the project. The Royal Bank of Scotland and the Co-Operative Bank in Kingston are both very kindly lending one car parking space each and The Harts BoatYard are donating five car parking spaces on the day so that the students do not have far to carry their equipment to the river.  

Chris who has been scuba diving with the Sub Aqua club for three years and qualified as an instructor last year, said: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received from local groups and I’m very grateful and excited about the project.”

  

If you’re a Kingston University student interested in volunteering on this project then please let us know! We need you to help out on Monday 17th September, 09:30am-5:30pm and collect the rubbish the divers put on the river bank and deposit it in the skips provided. There will also be an information point on the river bank which we need volunteers to staff so that the general public can find out more about the project. 

Volunteer activities include:

• Collecting rubbish from the river bank and placing it in the skips provided.
• Collecting money for RNLI through a bucket collection on an information point on the river bank.
• Standing on an information point and talking to any members of the public who are interested about the river clean project.  

Skills needed: Volunteers must be enthusiastic, have good communication and team-working skills and be able to stand for long periods of time.  Please note volunteers should wear sensible clothing, but protective gloves, steel toe-cap wellington boots and other equipment will be provided. 

If you are interested: please email Volunteer Co-ordinator Jemma Houghton at Jemma.Houghton@kingston.ac.uk with your full name, KU number, and telephone number by 4pm on Friday 14^th September 2012.

All KUSU Volunteers who complete our registration process (only takes half an hour or so) can claim back their volunteer expenses! 

Alternatively if you're a member of the general public and want to find out more about the Underwater River Clean why not come along on Monday 17^th September 2012, 10am-5pm and see the Student-Led Volunteering project in action! There will be an information point situated in the back garden of The Ram pub opposite the river, KT1 1H. Several KUSU Volunteers will be running this information point, giving out literature, as well as raising money through a bucket collection for Chris’ chosen charity: RNLI – ‘the charity that saves lives at sea’.   

By Lauren Stopps KUSU Communications Coordinator

Vice President Activities of KUSU blogs about Volunteering!

Hi I’m Lauren McCormack and I am currently on a gap year from my Sports Science with Business degree. I have just finished my placement year where I worked full time as an elected student officer (Vice President Activities) of Kingston University Students’ Union where part of my job has been to oversee volunteering. I’ve also got involved in several volunteering opportunities throughout the year – here’s a quick recap of what I’ve taken part in and more importantly why you should consider volunteering too!

Working and studying full time can be very demanding on time, especially when there are deadlines/exams to prepare for. One-Off Volunteering is a great way to get involved in volunteering as you can do as much or as little as you like! I’ve done several one-off volunteering opportunities this year.

Back in November last year I went along with the sports students (known as the Kingston Cougars) to redecorate the sports hall at Waldegrave School For Girls, a local secondary school. 15 of us worked together to whitewash the wall and stencil silhouettes to transform the space – and it looked great!

In February I then took part in a food project for the homeless using waste food from supermarkets to cook at a local church in Kingston. Using food that was going to be thrown away we did a ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ style day where volunteers and the homeless were split into teams to see what exciting dishes we could come up with! The day was part of Student Volunteering Week and was great fun - we all got to eat the food together afterwards as part of a big lunch in the church hall!

Most recently I went along to KUSU’s Bird & Bat Box Building and BBQ event where I helped make bird and bat boxes for the nature trail at Kingston Hill campus. The event also celebrated KUSU volunteers’ achievements over the past year. The BBQ food was cooked to perfection and we were really fortunate to have good weather – it was a great way to meet other volunteers too!

Volunteering with KUSU is a good way to try something new, meet new people, make new friends and also learn new skills while helping out and having fun. It also means you are able to do something worthwhile and productive with your spare time! I’m looking forward to doing more volunteering this academic year 2012-2013. It’s going to be a busy year and I can’t wait!

In March I was re-elected to do a second year as Vice President Activities where my role is to oversee sports, societies and volunteering in Kingston University Students’ Union as well as representing the student body. In terms of volunteering this year I’m hoping to run a project through the Be A Champion sports volunteering scheme where 5 volunteers from the mountaineering (climbing) club will lead sessions at a local climbing wall for a community group. As well as this I’m also hoping to go along as a kayak volunteer to the Sub Aqua Thames River Clean project during Freshers Week to help ensure they are visible to passing boats. I’ll be keeping an eye on the One-Off Volunteering opportunities that happen throughout the year too and am also hoping to become a regular volunteer with the Scouts through Community Volunteering at KUSU! There’s just so many opportunities that it’s hard to get the chance to do it all, but I’m trying to make the most of it while I’m still at Kingston University and when I go back into my final year next September!

E-mail: activities@kingston.ac.uk

Phone: 020 8417 2883 Ext: 62883

Twitter: @activitiesKUSU, @laurenmacca19

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=507326066

Volunteering at the Kingston Olympic Torch Relay!

I’m not, never have been, and most probably never will be a sporty person. Largely, excitement about the London 2012 Olympics has passed me by: at a push, I could probably be persuaded to watch the men’s diving (ahem), but golf? Archery? Football? Don’t we get enough football coverage on the TV as it is, without adding in some extra Olympiad games? Bah humbug, I say.

Anna Smith carrying the Olympic Torch through Kingston.
Spot the volunteers in their yellow t-shirts! 

Or at least, I did say. The Olympic Torch Relay made me prick up my ears a little, because it wasn’t all about the sport. 8000 everyday heroes were plucked from relative obscurity to carry the torch from A to B, to recognise and celebrate the fantastic work they have done in their communities or the successes they’ve achieved. So when I saw that I could volunteer through KUSU Volunteering, Go Kingston Volunteering and help marshal the event in Kingston, I figured it could be my contribution to this international sporting celebration that would really mean something to me.

So off I toddled, at 7.30am on a Tuesday morning (painful), into Kingston Market Place to meet with other volunteers, students and local residents alike, to help man the crowds and watch brilliant people be commended for their work. I was posted by the Bentall Centre, which was Anna Smith’s leg of the relay.

Earlier this year, Anna got home from work to find a neighbour being attacked by two thugs. Anna went to her rescue, saved the neighbour, but suffered a violent attack herself. She was in intensive care for a week before an intensive operation to rebuild her shattered cheekbones, nose and jaws. Her confidence was crushed by the incident and she had to move home. However, she chose to take a positive approach to life, joking that not everyone gets a free face lift and continuing to be an inspirational mother to her two young children.

Whilst she still needs some more operations, she has worked hard to regain full fitness so that she can return to helping others though sports activities. Reflecting on her time in hospital, she has been determined to do more therapeutic work to support people in need and has now successfully gained NHS sponsorship for a part time Occupational Therapy degree to build on her expertise and extend her skills for the benefit of others.

Anna's passion for sporting activities, her incredible determination following this horrific incident and the fact that she has used her experience to positively benefit others meant she was nominated as an Olympic Torchbearer. As the crowd roared their approval when she jogged past, lit torch proudly in the air, I began to understand that the Olympics was about so much more than sports. It’s about bringing the community together, promoting healthy, happy lifestyles, offering opportunities and celebrating diversity and equality.

And really, those four things are what volunteering itself is all about. It’s great to be a part of something bigger than yourself, and getting involved with all kinds of events and opportunities to make life better for others, just like Anna Smith did. 2012 is definitely the year to open your eyes to something new – for me it’s men’s diving, and who knows, maybe yours could be volunteering with KUSU!


Check out the rest of my photos from the day here.

Lucy Williams

Vice President Student Life at KUSU

http://studentlifekusu.wordpress.com