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| Sarah Dutton - KUSU Volunteer Co-ordinator (Projects) |
Hello, my name is Sarah Dutton, and I will be the new
student and staff-led projects Volunteer Co-ordinator, replacing Jemma Houghton
who is off exploring new pastures in Canada. Alongside me, I will be working with
Abbie Hurrell, who co-ordinates all of the one-off
volunteering and regular volunteering across Kingston Upon Thames, the
surrounding boroughs and central London.
Before
coming to Kingston University Students’ Union
(KUSU), my background was co-ordinating volunteering projects within the Career
Development Service and Student Recruitment at the University of Leicester.
I’ve also volunteered at various charities over the last decade. I think
volunteering is a fantastic way of facilitating positive change within your
local area, as well as gaining confidence, acquiring employability skills and
making new friends. It is something I sort out as a student, and I hope you do
too.
As
I’ve only been here a couple of weeks so far, I haven’t had the pleasure of
meeting many KU students, but am looking forward to when you start pouring into
the union offices with your fantastic volunteering project ideas! Having heard
all about the exciting projects that ran last year, like the River
Clean, Knit
for Peace and sports fun sessions such as teaching
cheerleading to Kingston Young Carers, I know that as KU students you are
both creative and committed, which is fantastic.
There
are a number of ways that you can get involved with KUSU Volunteering, either by getting
in contact with Abbie or myself. I will be the point of contact for any of you
who are interested in setting up your own student-led
volunteering project or taking part in any staff-led projects that I create.
If you’re interested in volunteering with a particular charity or community organisation
you can email Abbie on, Abigail.Hurrell@kingston.ac.uk.
For
those of you who are feeling creative and want to set up your
own volunteering project (it can be a one off or more regular opportunity)
then please get in touch with your ideas. You can do this on your own, with a
couple of friends, or with your society or sports team.
Designing and leading your own project is a fantastic way of building up your
skills set e.g. communication and organisational skills, as well as getting out
into the community and making a real difference. However, don’t panic you won’t
be alone when co-ordinating your project. I will support you along the way by offering
tips and guidance on running a volunteering project, and offering up to £250 in
funding for the opportunity.
As
well as supporting students to run volunteering projects, I will also be
setting up and co-ordinating my own projects for students to volunteer on.
These will include projects such as the Christmas present donation scheme, as
well as many more. All of these new (staff-led) projects will be advertised on
the new KUSU volunteering database. Sadly this database isn’t live yet, but it
will be up and running for the beginning of Fresher’s week. So make sure you don’t
miss out on our upcoming blog for more information on this.
If
you are interested in running your own volunteering project, please email me at
S.Dutton@kingston.ac.uk, with a
completed project proposal available on the Student-Led Volunteering Project
Toolkit webpage. Equally if you are interested in volunteering in general,
email volunteering@kingston.ac.uk,
or drop into our office on Penrhyn Road campus between 10am - 4pm.
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