The Front Counter and Firearms: volunteering with the Met Police

Will acting the part of an injured victim in a counter-terrorism training exercise

My name is Will Scott-Barrett and I am a third year Criminology student. In April 2010 I started volunteering for the Metropolitan Police right here in Kingston. Over the last two years, I have taken many roles as a Met PoliceVolunteer but it is volunteering on the front counter of Kingston Police Station that has been my main role.

I have also taken on roles doing admin work, calling victims of crime to get feedback on how they were dealt with and what their feelings were about the process, and most excitingly, volunteering for Specialist Firearms Command (more commonly known as CO19).

Volunteering on the front counter takes in a wide variety of tasks that include dealing with customers who have lost or found property, reporting in for bail, handing in their driving licences after they have been stopped for things like speeding or talking on their mobile phone, and then on occasions, we deal with victims of crime. I really have enjoyed the last two years as all of the officers and staff and the police station have been very welcoming and are always willing to assist volunteers wherever they need it.

However, for me, the best moments in the last two years have been with the firearms unit. The first one was when I went on a tour of their main base and was permitted to hold some of the firearms that they use when they go on duty. Another really good moment was when was I on exercise with them as a role-play volunteer and got to meet a troop of soldiers from the SAS along with their very friendly dog ‘Killer’. My most ‘high-profile’ role was recently when I took part in a multi-agency counter-terrorism exercise that was designed to simulate the aftermath of a terrorist attack in the middle of the Olympic Period

I volunteer for the police a couple of times a week which is probably quite a lot, but I do it because it gives me a great sense of fulfilment especially when I deal with a difficult customer and manage to solve the problem they came to the police station with. I have sadly moved onto a different role in the police now (I'm currently training as a Special Constable!) but I could not recommend the role more, anyone doing it will have a really enjoyable time.

One off Volunteering

Hello I’m Natasha and at the beginning of my second year I was keen to do some volunteering, but I am studying Adult Nursing and so unable to commit to regular volunteering due to our shifts on clinical placement . However I heard about KUSU Volunteering at Freshers Fayre and was delighted to be able to sign up for one-off volunteering!! One-off volunteers receive emails regularly with details of events that are looking for volunteers, and you just email back to register your interest and then you receive all the information you need.

Natasha (5th from the left) and other volunteers from the Mini Marathon

Before I knew it I was volunteering for Great Ormond street hospital cheering on their runners in the Royal parks half marathon in Hyde Park. Since then I have also volunteered selling clothes at a clothes swap for Cancer Research, taking timings at the Kingston trials for the London Virgin Mini Marathon and as a marshall for a Miles for Missing people fun run. To some people being a marshall or cheering on runners may seem like a very trivial thing to do but the charities are always so grateful for volunteers for giving up their time and many say that the events could not run without our help.

Volunteering has definitely improved my confidence, team working skills and also taught me how to adapt to new situations, but most importantly it has got me out of the house, having fun and helping people especially during the tougher times of my course. I would urge anyone who is interested to sign up to one-off volunteering (especially my fellow student nurses!!), not only will you have fun but it is something that will look great on your CV and you can be proud to have made a difference.

From One Off Projects to Project Leader...

Hello! My name is Rachael Penzo, and I'm a third year Biomedical Sciences student, and longtime volunteer here at Kingston University.

Rachael (left) volunteering for Save the Children

I started volunteering towards the end of my first year, and I must admit, when I first came to university, I had no interest in volunteer work whatsoever. A few one-off volunteering opportunities soon changed all that, and I have been in and out the volunteering office ever since! I have walked hounds and painted kennels, made Christmas cards for Whizz Kids, and I've even waded knee-deep in the Hogsmill River! I’ve also participated in a number of projects outside KUSU Volunteering, including weed bashing for RockCorps, and chaperoning for The Big Bang Fair and Save the Children events!

But I think my most memorable experience as a volunteer has got to be running Knit Hats for Babies, a project whereby I taught volunteers to knit hats for premature babies, which were then distributed to local hospitals. The sessions gave us a break from the everyday life, the stresses of being a student, and a guaranteed way to socialise with other like-minded individuals. Running my own project taught me patience, compassion, and other transferable skills that can not only be used to help further my career, but in general social environments as well.

Rachael and friends at the Big Bang Science Fair 

I have spread the word to all my friends, and almost all of them volunteer now in one form or another! To me, doing something out of the kindness of your own heart, by giving back to the community you are so proudly part of, gives me the biggest warm, fuzzy feeling inside (and I want to share this amazing feeling with everyone!).

Volunteering is an integral part of me now; it's one of the ways I define myself. I can definitely see myself volunteering in the future, and I hope it will stay with me for the rest of my life! 

Volunteering with St John Ambulance

KUSU Volunteering's community volunteers give up an amazing amount of time doing good things in the local community. Volunteering with St John Ambulance is one of these opportunities. Gemma Napaul explains why she got involved with it.  

I’m currently in my third year at Kingston, studying Biomedical Science. Whenever I tell anyone this, and explain what my degree entails they often ask me if I want to work in a hospital, and I’ll always reply, “Well, it would be nice but, I don’t think I could handle the blood.” This was the driving force behind my decision to volunteer with St John Ambulance.

I started training to be a first aider last year and qualified within 6 weeks. Unlike normal first aid courses for work, the training is continuous. I hope the word “continuous” doesn’t put anyone off, it’s just a weekly 2 hour session where they top up your skills. You don’t have to attend every week, just once a month will do! Duties are whenever you’re available. Being from Kingston we regularly help out at AFC Wimbledon and Twickenham Rugby (England vs. Wales this weekend... Can’t wait!). We also attend Wimbledon Tennis and the fireworks when November rolls round.

In fact the picture is of me on my first ever duty at Kingsmeadow, it also happened to be the first fireworks display I’ve watched outside and not from a window! Both fireworks and first aid?! Well and truly conquered my fears that day! The uniform isn’t very flattering but it keeps me safe and means that I’m easily approachable to those in need, plus it’s free and has lots of pockets, who doesn’t love lots of pockets?!

The best part about volunteering, aside from free access to amazing events, is the people I volunteer with. I was slightly intimidated at first but all the volunteers are really lovely and understand what it’s like to be a new first aider so they’re very supportive – they’ll always encourage you to take the lead but they’ll never leave you alone!

No matter the degree you’re studying, St John Ambulance is a brilliant organisation to volunteer for. It teaches you lifelong skills such as first aid, coping well under pressure and good communication (with both casualties and your fellow first aiders). 

I have volunteered for other projects, such as Knit Hats for Babies which Rachael ran last year and the Eel Conservation project which Chris has filled you in on. I tend to opt for the lengthier volunteering opportunities but I would love to do more one-off projects as I really enjoyed volunteering at The Big Bang Science Fair, which was more fun than work!

I think volunteering is extremely important especially as paid work is often too hard to obtain nowadays and, being a student, volunteering offers more flexibility than a part-time job. It’s a great way to, not only bulk up your CV but, become more involved in the community and helping out worthy causes while learning life skills that can’t be taught. It’s great to be able to celebrate all our hard work together as volunteers as you recognise everyone's dedication. 

Student Volunteering Week 2012

Well that's it all over for another year! Student Volunteering Week took place between the 18th-24th February and during that time we had an absolute blast meeting lot's of lovely new volunteers (and some old faces) at our different taster sessions. Here's a run down of what we got up to...

Kingston Hill campus's green space and woodland got a bit of tender loving care as a hard working group of volunteers spruced up a much loved nature trail. You can find a full report on the day and why the work done is so vital over at the Bio-diversity blog!

Walking retired greyhounds at Hersham is one of our regular volunteering opportunities but once a year we make a special trip to give the kennels where the dogs live a fresh lick of paint. It's not all hard work, as well as all the painting the volunteers also got the take the dogs for a walk! Tina gave us a full update on taking part in this project which you can find here.

We also held drop in sessions on campus with Knit for Peace and to make bunting for local community organisations. Both provided a great opportunity to meet new people and take a break from lectures whilst doing something useful for others. Perfect!


You can find all the pictures from the events on our Facebook page. We'd like to thank everyone that came along to one of our activities and also Chris, Christina, Farha, Tina, Natalie and Emma for providing lot's of new volunteer stories for our blog!  

Impact Conference 2012

Last week we bought you the first update from Farah on the Impact Conference. This week Emma Lindner our other successful applicant reports on her time at the conference. 

Emma at the Impact Conference

As a volunteer with the university my experience has very much focused on one-off volunteering opportunities ranging from walking retired grey hounds and building a Santa’s Grotto in Kingston Hospital’s children ward to fundraising for various charities such as Momentum and Great Ormond Street Hospital. But I was interested in going to the Impact Conference to learn more about the volunteer and charity sector.

Impact 2012 aims to be a national conference on Student Volunteering and social action. The conference was organised by two groups: the Impact Committee and Student Hubs. Students and staff involved with volunteering at various Universities all came to Oxford for the weekend to take part in the conference. We all stayed at the Youth Hostel there which was better than it might sound!


The conference itself was held at Oxford Brookes University and included the opportunity to get involved with interactive seminars and discussion groups, some of which took on a more informative role, others were more for debate. I didn't enjoy the debates as much as the seminars as they sometimes got hijacked by those simply wishing to express their political opinions rather than address the question presented. But apart from that, and the temperature (one day it was -10 degrees Celsius!), my time at the Impact conference was a positive one.

Farah and Emma at the conference

The best part of the weekend for me was meeting other students from different universities in the country from Bristol to Leeds and beyond! There was an opportunity for delegates at the conference to pitch ideas for volunteer projects they would like to run in their communities (imagine a dragon’s den scenario but much less scary!) with the winner getting £150 to start up their project.  For me, hearing what other students wanted to achieve was very inspiring.

The main thing I took away from the conference was a desire to find out more about why people don’t volunteer and in turn the best ways to promote and market opportunities available, but most of all the inspiration of seeing what other students just like you and I are doing all over the country to try and improve the lives of people in their communities and society as a whole.

KUSU Volunteers brave the cold for Momentum!

KUSU Volunteer Nicky at a previous Momentum collection

KUSU Volunteers give up thousands of hours across the year to good causes in Kingston. Whether that’s by volunteering regularly and really getting to know a charities work, running their own project or on one of our one-off opportunities. Just because it’s a one off doesn’t mean it can’t have a real impact on a charities work as Natalie a Fundraiser at Momentum explains.

Saturday 11^th February dawned sunny with sub-zero temperatures! However, this didn’t stop several Kingston Uni volunteers from turning out once again to help Momentum (www.moment-um.org) a charity based in Kingston which supports children and their families in South West London and Surrey, who have cancer and life-limiting conditions.

Our request this year was for help to inflate heart-shaped balloons to hand out to passers-by, in return for a voluntary donation to our charity.  The volunteers helped us to collect in excess of £1,300!

This will help us with future projects in the Paediatric department at Kingston Hospital and will also be used to pay for treats and outings for very sick children.

Momentum often has volunteering opportunities at our fundraising events. Next up will be an 80s themed party on Ravens Ait Island in May.  We’ll be looking forward to plenty of help from student volunteers to make the event a success.

For more details on one-off projects and how to get involved see our website.