Rose Award Winners 2016!!

The Volunteering Team are thrilled to announce that our Kingston:Lebara Programme won the 2016 Rose Award for Engagement with an External Organisation /Business /Industry/Not For Profit/International Partner. We are incredibly proud of this achievement, and we think it captures and celebrates the dedication and hardwork that ourselves, SAIL and Lebara Foundation have put into our partnership in order to provide a high impact and successful international volunteering programme in India and Sri Lanka. A huge congratulations to the staff behind the project! 

The past three years have been incredibly exciting as we have watched our project grow from one cultural exchange in Tamil Nadu, India, into a detailed programme tailored to the mothers and children we volunteer alongside, and we have even piloted a Professional Skills Academy in Sri Lanka with success! We are even more excited to watch this programme continue to grow, adding in new elements and amending with feedback each trip. For example, this summer we added in a staff role to enable Kingston University and Student Union staff to volunteer alongside our students, offering additional skills, insight and knowledge to the workshops run. 

Next year we are looking into adding into more language lessons, to help enhance volunteer communication abilities with local the children and mothers they volunteer with. We will also be sad to see the phenomenal Tawnya Cheatheam (SAIL) leaving the project, as she will be moving a new job role. It has been amazing to work with her over these past 3 years, and we wish her the best in her new post. However, a huge hello and welcome to Rachel Williams who will be taking over from Tawnya, and joining the Kingston:Lebara family.

If you are interested in applying to the project, applications will open on 1st December 2016. We will be running information sessions at the end of November 2016. To register your interest for the information sessions, please email volunteering@kingston.ac.uk. 

Say hello to our new Volunteering Assistant

Hi, my name is Elif Bulut, and I am currently a 3^rd year Psychology student at Kingston University London. I am a 22 years old, Kurdish citizen from Turkey. I have been a member of the Union of Kingston Students family since 2013 and I am now officially part of the Volunteering team as a Volunteering Assistant.

As every individual, I have started to develop a vision, ideology and ways of building my future and make social changes. I am very proud to mention that, Union of Kingston students has always been there to make sure that I achieve my goals, improve my skills and gain experiences to build myself and others a better future.

Let’s just touch on the Volunteering department within the Union, and why I was so excited to become part of it.

Due to my minority ethnic and religious background in Turkey, I have always volunteered at local Kurdish and Alevi community centres. Since being part of the local community centres, I have realised that every individual has power over the world to make a change. I have volunteered the England Alevi cultural centre and Cemevi in Hackney and Croydon, and have taken part in so many different activities involving youth activities and events for our local community, such as festivals. My local Alevi community centre has now become a huge part of my life. Furthermore, I believe that in order to achieve social change and build better future for everyone, we must get together and work together.

Due to previous experiences, I was very excited to be part of Union of Kingston students volunteering department. As I have mentioned before, I love working towards positive social changes, hopefully improving others’ lives, and making the world a better place to live in (hopefully one day in peace J ). 

One of my other goals in life is to make sure that I always stand by those who need me and make sure to help be their voice.  With the Volunteering Assistant role I hope to help positively influence many other students within Kingston University, like myself, to become actively part of the team and work towards making positive change. Not only within our current communities, but also here to help students to gain more experience, improve their skills and help to help them to build a better future.

Welcoming the new Knitting for Charity Student Leader, Victoria

Hi I’m Victoria Cooper and I’m the new project leader for the volunteer group Knitting for Charity. I’m a second year fashion student and I’m hoping to specialise in knitwear, which I’m sure doesn’t come as much of a surprise!

I started to become involved in this project last October when I joined as a nervous first year volunteer, and I soon became a regular knitter, helping to make knitted or crocheted items for the charity Knit for Peace. Knit for Peace sends items all over the world, including both locally and globally, items identified for their need in the places they are sent.

I really love this project, not only because in a way it relates to my studies here; but as someone wanting to go into the fashion industry it feels good to know that I am doing something to help people in need. The fashion industry has such a bad reputation for putting profit before people’s wellbeing and by getting involved in this project I feel like I am doing my bit to help rather than hurt, and I want to be able to continue this idea when I go into the industry.

 

I’m really excited to start leading the group this year and I’ve got some ideas to do some fun themed projects around Christmas and Easter. It doesn’t matter if you are a complete beginner, I hadn’t knitted for about eight years before I joined this group and we also welcome any crocheters.

Sign up to the project on the Volunteering Portal, and come along to join every Wednesday 1

-3pm, in the Students' Union, on Penrhyn Road Campus! We run on a drop in basis, so you can come for as long or as little as you want.

Thames River Clean May 2015

Hi I'm Theo Mills, and I was student-leader along with Kathy Stanley-Quist of the 2015 Thames River Clean, as part of the Sports Volunteering Steam. We were supported by Volunteering Projects Design and Development Coordinator, Sarah Dutton.

I started scuba diving back in September of 2013 and have fallen in love with the sport. The club brings together an amazing group of people and one of our biggest events in the calendar year is the Kingston Thames River Clean.

Originally thought up and masterminded by fellow diver and Kingston alumni Chris Elliot, 2015 was the 4^th consecutive year that the river clean had been held. Having sadly missed last year’s river lean this was my first year attending and also helping to organising the event with other members of KUSAC and the Students' Union (SU).

I joined the committee just before Christmas of 2014 and was amazed by the amount of work that actually goes into making this event possible. Just for a one day event there is so much work behind the scenes that goes into making it possible. This involved applying for grants, contacting people to attend the event and general organisation of location and equipment. After careful consideration on much deliberation we settled on the 30^th of May as the date for the clean.  In order to secure the date, The Environment Agency gave us the go ahead, closed off one of the arches of Kingston Bridge, provided us with a river barge for rubbish, and informed all river users of the activity. We also had to organise insurance, recruitment of volunteers from all over the community, timetables, lunches, health and safety briefings, risk assessments and much more. It was exhausting but amazing to see so many get on board including, KUSAC, KUBAG, KU Kayakers, KU Mountaineers, Kingston Council, Environment Agency, Metropolitan Police, RNLI, Thames 21, Aquanauts and Capital Clean Up.

The hard work paid off and the river clean was an amazing success. In total we pulled out over 460 items from just a small stretch of the river. This included 31 trollies and 7 different push bikes. All the volunteers did an amazing job on the day, and made it and exciting and enjoyable day for the public and everyone involved. 

Next year I will be heading up the committee, and I look forward to helping keep this wonderful project going. It is clear we are helping to improve the environment around Kingston and this is an event that bring a number of different people together for a good cause.  

We are also recruiting for the 2015-2016 River Clean Committee, and welcome applications. If you are interested and are a student at Kingston University and in a sports team, please email S.Dutton@kingston.ac.uk, outlining why you think you would make a brilliant committee member.  

Volunteering Celebrates International Day of Happiness 2015

Are you feeling happy? As part of the UN decreed day, Kingston University Students' Union took part in International Day of Happiness for the second year running, and wow, did we hand out a lot of hugs! Everyone's arms hurt the next day from handing out so many hugs and high fives! We think it is a measurement of not only dedication, but real success.

International Day of Happiness, is held on the 20th March of each year, and is designed to showcase the UN's awareness of the need for happiness and good well-being for the everyone to grow as a global economy. It isn't all just about money! For the global community to grow, we should strive for all to feel safe, secure and connected to our communities. Here at KUSU we think this is pretty important, and helping to spread a bit of happiness is certainly worthwhile.

This year we were lucky to have a bit of sunshine, in comparison to last year's rain, which always helps cheer everyone up. We took along our happiness tree, and set up in Kingston town centre. There we handed out free hugs, high fives, handmade jewellery, sweets and successfully added a lot of new pledges of happiness leaves to our tree. It is now looking somewhat less wintery.

Each pledge of happiness, is designed to get individuals thinking about what makes them happy, and what they could do over the next year to increase or spread positivity. It is tied to our tree, to showcase the growth of positivity each year, as the number of leaves increase. Pledges can be anything, as long as it is both personal but positive. They ranged from seeing family and friends more, to working towards passing driving tests.

Originally we had a goal to hand out about 100 hugs and high fives, and as many pledges as possible. However, we surpassed that with a total of around 500 hugs and countless high fives. We had many thank us for helping make them smile, and many of our volunteers decided to go on celebrating happiness, even when we had to pack up.

Happy International Day of Happiness.

The Volunteering Team xx

BeeAware at Global Festival

This week marked the celebration of Global Festival, with an entire week filled with events and stalls from each society, and even some volunteering projects. The aim of the week is to celebrate diversity here at Kingston University, and to embrace the amazing things our students groups do.

This year as part of the festival, KUSU’s BeeAware project, which aims to raise awareness of the declining bee population, hosted a honey tasting event to highlight what would be off the table should the honey bee die out.

The event proved very popular, with students and staff queueing to try some of the honey related items on show. The favourite type of honey proved to be the orange blossom, with the chilli honey being a bit too spicy for many. However by far the favourite item to try was the bee pollen, which is nice added to salads or smoothies. Bee pollen is thought to be great for energy with high protein and vitamin B levels, as well as helping with hayfever.

When BeeAware volunteers spoke about the many products that would be unavailable should the bee decline continue, such as cotton, lipsticks and almonds, many seemed genuinely shocked about the actual impact of bees. Fingers crossed this means that the group successfully added a few more to helping save the bees.

To find out more about BeeAware, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kusubees

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KUSUBees

Supermarket River Sweep…

I started learning to SCUBA diver in February 2013 and fell in love with being under the water. Chris Elliot (aka The Master) asked for help on a project he and Matt, another student, were running in the autumn, the second river clean.  I went along on the day to help on the shore and was blown away by the amount of rubbish that was dragged from such a small section of the river Thames.

Jump forward six months and Chris approached me asking if I would organise KUSAC’S third Thames River Clean.  I was in my final year of study and commuting from Sussex, but jumped at the chance to be involved in such a brilliant scheme, little did I understand the amount of work that has to be put in before the scheme can even get off the ground. Thank goodness for Chris and the Union of Kingston Students’ Volunteering Office who were there to support and help me to keep the project on track.

The date was arranged and things were running smoothly when…. Mother Nature decided to throw a spanner in the works and sent rain, rain, rain and more rain, so much that the Thames was flooding!  So with time and the weather against us we had to postpone until the New Year.

This delay though gave us time to work with Thames 21 and train up future student organisers of the River Clean and other environmental projects.  It also gave us time to build stronger links with other organisations and companies such as Aquanauts, a local scuba and snorkelling shop whose owners, Ian and Lynne, donated cylinders and air for our divers to use along with volunteer divers from their dive club who were indispensable.

So the new date is in place Saturday 24^th May 2014. The Environment Agency have given us the go ahead, closed off one of the arches of Kingston Bridge, provided us with a river barge for rubbish, and informed all river users of the activity.  KUSAC ready, Divers information collated and all ready for the off, insurances checked, volunteers organised, KUBAG loaning equipment, Aquanauts equipment and divers ready, volunteers organised, KU Kayakers and KU Mountaineers ready.  Parking organised free by the Bentalls centre, Local council on-board, Environment agency organised, Metropolitan Police Kingston informed and aware of project… so now to cross fingers and toes and pray for good weather.

The day arrives… I have stayed at Simon’s (Dive Manager for this project) and am up at daft O’clock (that’s before 6am!) and walk along to meet Chris to collect the equipment.  Then on to Horse Fair Quay where the river clean is being carried out.  By half eight the majority of volunteers have arrived and organising is in full swing.  Volunteers are signed in, and health and safety talks have been given so now it is down to business.

The first group of four divers enter the water; the kayakers are providing surface cover and protection to our divers under the surface.  Sarah and Steve from the Volunteer Office, volunteers from Kingston University Mountaineering club, KUSAC, KUBAG, Aquanauts, Thames 21 and other Kingston students and alumni were ready on shore to pull the debris ashore.

The goal was to clean as much as we could, of the area behind the Bentalls centre on Horsefair Quay; oh and to beat the last river clean trolley count!

The water looks murky from above but it is not until you go under the surface that you realise how bad the visibility is down there. It looks okay until you move or move an item that is in the thick gloopy muddy silt on the bottom.  The divers had to use their hands to “feel” where the next item was located or sit and wait for the silt to settle take in their bearings and then reach for the item knowing that as soon as they moved the silt would come back up and reduce their visibility to just the end of their noses.  So the divers grab the grapnel that has been lowered down to them from one of the shore people, dive under the water and attach it to whatever item they have discovered and then tug on the rope to let the shore party aware that something needs to be pulled up.  The divers then move away from the object so as not to get trapped though keeping an eye on the item in case it gets tangled in
other debris.

                  

On the shore the volunteers from all the different sports clubs along with all other volunteers, members of dive club, Aquanauts, Thames 21, and the local RNLI team from Teddington who also popped in to help for a couple of hours, are ready and eagerly awaiting the treasure trove of items that the Thames is going to sprout forth.  From divers to water and shore rescue teams, litter pickers, waders, pullers and grabbers, tea and coffee makers, washer uppers and general go to it girls and guys all hands were on deck.

Not only did the RNLI give us water cover, after lunch they also helped to pull items from the river by loaning their muscle power to pull debris from the Thames.

And so the massive task of stacking all of the materials/bicycles/debris on to the floating rubbish barge began in earnest.

  The final tally of rubbish included, 105 metal shopping trolleys, 388 glass bottles, 244 drinking glasses, 3 prams, 22 bricks, 45 CD’s, 3 coconuts, 1 stove, 1 microwave oven door, 2 dead pigeons, 2 battery packs,  2 mallets, 2 gas cylinders, 30 skateboards, 1 children’s bicycle, 13 adult bicycles, 14 scaffold poles, 4 logs and many many many items that are far too many to list but in total there was over 4 tonnes of rubbish removed from the river that day!!!

An absolutely amazing achievement by all those involved.

I am so pleased with the result and the hard work and dedication from all of those involved. The day itself ran really smoothly with everyone finding a job or role that they could do.  Many a smile and some laughter, with a Christmas like quality to the air sometimes with people wondering what was going to be dragged out of the river next!!

I want to extend an HUGE thank you to all involved (majority shown here) for working so hard and managing to help in retrieving such an huge amount of rubbish from the Thames with little to no fuss, you were all A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

4pm and all divers out of the water, time to clean up, wash down the area, clear up and go home!  By 7pm Chris and I had put the last bit of equipment away and were shattered.

Time to go home and relax with a nice glass of red wine, until the next time, on your trolleys, get set, GO...  Kathy J

Duria Awale, Food Bank

Hi my name is Duria Awale, and I am part of the Islamic Society at Kingston University. At the start of the academic year the Islamic Society (ISoc) and I wanted to do something to help those less fortunate in the community, and we thought who better to help than the many homeless people in the Kingston area. At first we thought that we could just go around and feed the homeless, but after seeking advice from Sarah Dutton (Volunteering Project Design and Development Coordinator) we saw that it was not a feasible option. What we decided to do was to collect food items at the university to then donate to the Kaleidoscope hostel in Kingston.

In order for students on campus to donate they had to know about the project first, so the first step we took was to create a poster, which would have all the information about the collection points and create awareness on campus. This proved to be a success as we were able to collect £200 worth of food. The next step was to contact the Kaleidoscope Project to arrange a day where we could drop off all the food, when I first contacted them they were overjoyed that we were donating large amounts of food and they said the people living in the hostel would be also.

Dropping the food off:

The day of the drop off, seven Islamic Society volunteers and I filled up two cars with the food and took the 5 minute drive to the hostel. Sarah and Steve (Volunteering) joined us to give the food to the staff there; they were overjoyed with the amount of food we had brought. We also had the opportunity to speak to some of the users of the charity, who were very friendly and seemed like they were slightly taken aback by the fact that we had the initiative of assisting their community.

The Islamic Society and I share the belief that philanthropy is an important aspect in society and without this there will be no support for the less fortunate.

Saying yes is the beginning

Hello guys!

My name is Pramila Limbu and I am currently studying International business.  As part of my student-led project I coordinated the Garden makeover for Age Concern on 4^th of November 2013.

Why I said yes?

I always had a passion of helping others and improving the community. Even though my degree is international business which is not directly related to what this project is about. Volunteering has always been a hobby of mine since I was in school. In school there were various fund raisers I was involved in. I remember particularly when I was in the choir. We raised money for St. Helena hospice by doing a mini concert for the local community. I also volunteered for sense charity shop on Saturdays for 4 years. When I was in college I volunteered for conservation for areas like Abberton reserve, Fringringhoe and Bradwell on sea.
There was also another reason that I had never led a project so, this was an opportunity for me to experience the excitement and hard work that goes into leading a volunteering project.

Project day!

On the day I was nervous but I didn't have to be as Sarah (volunteering coordinator) was also with me which was good.  I was most afraid about the turnout of people but I had more than enough people to volunteer for the project. So, I was very happy. The weather was great and sunny which was a plus. After that we got on with it and finished the job. Below are pictures of the event as pictures speak a thousand words!

Volunteers on the day: Adeeba, Ayan, Fadame, Nazya, Sarah (KUSU Projects Volunteer Coordinator), Selvia, and Sofie.

Results!

This experience made me very proud of myself as I know that I made a change in the age concern garden. I am now inspired to start a project myself if I want to and not just volunteer when there is a project. If you have an idea make it happen and don't wait for others to come up with the Idea and regret it later. So, this experience was very eye opening for me. There were lots of documents to fill in, various meetings to discuss at and visiting the site several times. But, it was all worth it at the end. The feels you get is amazing and gives you a different kind of buzz. Lastly this would have been possible without the lovely volunteers. Thank you very much once again!

If you are interested in setting up and running your own volunteering project, then contact KUSU Volunteering at S.Dutton@kingston.ac.uk.

Volunteering at Kingston Hospital

Hi my name is Karis and I am graduating in Biomedical Science. 

As I am hoping to study medicine the following year I thought it would be a good idea to experience the real life environment of a hospital and have the chance to help people at the same time. This was when I found the opportunity to volunteer in  A&E  and the wards in Kingston Hospital via the Kingston University Student Union volunteering website. 

I attend the hospital once a month at the moment and help out on an afternoon with tea making, offering food and generally being someone there for the patients to talk to. If the ward is quiet then from time to time I also help patients fill out a patient response form so they can give their opinion on the service they have received, which is vital for making improvements. 

Whilst helping out I have also had the chance to talk to many consultants, nurses and junior doctors who have shared their experiences with me and gave me advice for the future. This is a useful volunteering opportunity for someone who wants to have a career in the medical profession and as you can chose when and how often to attend the hospital you can work it around your needs. The hospital can provide you with a parking permit or pay for your travel expenses from the train. 

If you have a few spare hours or an afternoon I would definitely give it a go! 

Movember half way point

It has been an awkward couple of weeks since my clean cut introduction to Movember. At this moment in time I am sporting a fairly ridiculous mustache that has drawn it's fair share of ridicule from friends and family. It's still all for a good cause though which has certainly helped me to push on despite being out and about meeting lots of different members of organisations that we are trying to find great volunteering opportunities with.

For a while I was sporting a fairly classic handlebar 'Mo' but in the interest of variety I decided to lose the handlebars this past weekend. There are plenty of other people walking around proudly displaying their facial hair and I have to say it does feel good to be a part of something with so many others. My 'Mo bros' and I are hopefully putting men's health into focus throughout November and it does give you a warm feeling to be doing something good while having a laugh doing it.

With the days in November rapidly disappearing I have to admit I am looking forward to going back to my usual look. It's a very strange feeling to have a warm lip while the rest of you face feels the full force of the November wind.

Remember, if you would like to help out then check out my webpage or come and drop some loose change into my Movember money box in the volunteering office.  

https://www.justgiving.com/account/your-pages/steveandchrismovember

Steve's Movember Journey

Movember has become an annual tradition for many. This however, is my first year taking part in the annual craze that raises awareness for Men’s health through the medium of facial hair. As such I thought I would give you the opportunity to go through the journey with me by putting some updates on to the blog along with a few photos.

Last night (Oct 31^st) I clean shaved for the first time in years and closed my eyes and hoped I wouldn't wake up looking like I was 14 again. Alas it didn't work and I’m left lamenting my stubbly look.

It is all for a good cause though!! I've teamed up with my friend Chris to support the Royal Marsden, fighting cancer and changing the lives of so many people, including Chris’ father in-law Tony. I will be sure to update you on the progress of my ‘mo’. In the meantime you can find a little more info in the link below. If you want to help me support The Royal Marsden you can also donate through the page or come and see me and the 'mo' in person at the volunteering office in the Town House on Penrhyn road.

https://www.justgiving.com/account/your-pages/steveandchrismovember

If anyone else out there is taking on Movember I’d love to hear about it.   

Hello from Steve!

Hi, my name is Steve and I'm very excited to be your new Community Placements Volunteer Co-ordinator. I will be taking over from Abbie and working alongside Sarah Dutton who is the Student and Staff-led Projects Volunteer Co-ordinator. I’m just getting settled in to my new role at the moment but can’t wait to start helping you to volunteer on some exciting and worthwhile projects out in the community.

I love volunteering and come from a background of recruiting and co-ordinating volunteers having most recently co-ordinated volunteer mentors at National Citizenship Service provider, The Challenge Network. Volunteering has been a huge part of my life and has opened so many doors for me, including an international placement and the chance to discuss volunteering with government officials and CEOs. I am really excited to be at Kingston University Students Union (KUSU) to help you open the same doors and so many more.

Volunteering benefits so many people and my aim going forward is to show that it is also FUN! Often we can forget that what we are doing is making a difference because it is so enjoyable. If we can’t find you something that you think is your idea of fun, why not get in touch with Sarah (s.dutton@kingston.ac.uk) and plan your own project. Whichever route you wish to follow we will be here to make your volunteering ambitions possible.  Now is a great chance to test out volunteering if you haven’t before as London Student Volunteering Fortnight runs from the 28^th October- 8^th November and offers the chance to get involved and see what it’s all about.

I can’t wait to start meeting you all and talking to you about exciting opportunities. If you have any questions about community volunteering then please get in touch with me (Stephen.alexander@kingston.ac.uk). I would also love to hear from those of you already volunteering about what you are up to at the moment. 

Whatever it is about volunteering that peaks your interest, get in touch to see how you can get involved!

Arrivederci SU Volunteers! It's been fun!

I’m really sad to announce that I am leaving KUSU Volunteering on the 11 October to begin a new job with Queen Mary University.

I have absolutely loved working here over the past 7 months, and it has been a real pleasure to help so many of you volunteer on community placements.  I am especially sad to be leaving as I have met so many fabulous students since terms started who I know will make brilliant volunteers.

If you have applied to volunteer on an event or regular placement then please be aware that there may be a delay in your application being processed.   KUSU Volunteering will announce as soon as they have hired someone to replace me – so make sure you book an appointment to see them once they are settled in.

For all of you who begin volunteer make sure that you are recording your volunteering hours on your online profiles!

Sarah will be around if you have any questions, but please remember that she also has to manage projects, so it might rather busy over the next few months.

Good luck to all of you,  and I hope you all manage to enjoy your volunteering journeys!!

Abbie xx

Abbie 'Knits for Peace'

Hi!  My name is Abbie and I am one of the KUSU Volunteer Coordinators.  I like to get involved in a lot of charities and I currently volunteer with Cats Protection, St John Ambulance, and the Crisis Response Team on a regular basis.  However, like so many of our KUSU volunteers I am always looking for ways to learn new skills and give something back to the community.

When Sarah (our other KUSU Volunteer Coordinator) mentioned the idea of beginning a Knit for Peace Project, we wanted to make sure that it was something that all our fabulous KUSU volunteers could get involved in - regardless of their previous knitting experience.  As someone who has NEVER knitted before I offered to be her first student – if I could learn ANYONE could!!

On Monday I had my first lesson.  During our lunch break we went for a coffee and Sarah took me though the very basics of knitting.  After an initial half hour of confusion, frustration and wool-tangles I was starting to get the hang of it!

By Wednesday, after a little practicing, I was on my way to making my first hat!  Knitting isn’t necessarily something I would have considered before, but it’s great to do on the train, in front of the TV and it turns otherwise wasted time into something really productive.  It’s a little tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it you’ll find its really easy and surprisingly rewarding!

All the knitting we are doing is donated to Knit for Peace.  Knit for Peace then send our creations to people in countries and areas of need. For example sending hats, scarves, socks and blankets.

So starting on the 16^th October 2013, and every Wednesday afternoon following, between 1-3pm Sarah will be running a knitting club, and KUSU would love you to join us.  KUSU will provide wool, needles and also training so don’t worry if you can’t already knit.  You can come for a much time as you wish, and it’s a great way to donate a couple of hours of your time to help others less fortunate.

Not only can you ‘Knit for Peace’, you can also then use your new skills to knit fabulous presents for your friends and family!!

The Knit for Peace Project begins on Wednesday the 16^th October 1pm-3pm – sign up at http://kingston.xvs.org.uk/

I hope to see you there

Abbie

Jewellery Making at Shooting Stars CHASE

Hi there, I’m Sam Neale, a third year Psychology BSc student at Kingston University, and I recently ran a jewellery workshop at Shooting Stars CHASE Children’s Hospice, with children aged 4 -12.

I am so glad I got to run the project and to have had a positive impact at the hospice. I hoped they would have fun making things and to give them a sense of satisfaction upon making something creative which they can always keep. The children certainly seemed to enjoy it! You can see all their beautiful jewellery in the photos on this blog, and more on the KUSU Volunteering Facebook page.

Aside from making a positive impact at Shooting Star CHASE, I also wanted to build my own confidence in leading and supervising a project with young children, as I had previously only volunteered and worked in assistant roles or taught small groups as directed by a class teacher. I definitely achieved this goal, and feel far more confident to go on and teach/work with children.

  

As hoped, the project was a success and the children said they really enjoyed making the jewellery. One girl enjoyed it so much she made about 7 bracelets! Throughout the afternoon the children were able to relax and chat among themselves, with KUSU and myself, as well as the staff on hand to support children with more severe physical impairments, all whilst they worked on designing and making their jewellery. Seeing them have so much fun helped my confidence in knowing I am able to organise, lead and supervise a project.

                       

The staff and children seemed delighted with the session and I think this project would work well on another occasion or in a similar organisation, with similar aged children. 

As this was a student-led project, this experience has taught me how to plan, organise and manage a project. I now really appreciate all the fine details that go into planning volunteering work, particularly with children, especially risk assessment planning! I was also able to practice and develop my skills in liaising with people from different organisations and budget planning as well as time management. 

I think my favorite part though, was watching the children enjoy a project I had planned, it made it that bit more rewarding. This experience has been wonderful, and not only will it look great on my CV but is something I will cherish forever. Throughout the project I was supported by KUSU Volunteer Coordinators Jemma and Sarah, who helped train me in filling out a risk assessment, and coach me through project planning. It was really great having them there as a support mechanism, and they were more than happy to help with anything during my project.

Having long enjoyed volunteering, I believe it is a great way to make a positive impact on people whilst get something back yourself in the process, whether that be simply enjoying seeing others benefit from your efforts or gaining valuable experience, or both! The more proactive you are and the more you give, the more you get back. I will definitely continue volunteering when I can.

If you want to run your own volunteering project like me, then visit the KUSU Volunteering website to find out more.

                                                                            Sam xx

   

                                             

Introducing KUSU Volunteer Co-ordinator Sarah Dutton

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.

Volunteer Gems!

The children from Kingston Welcare showing off their jewellery!

Hello there,

I am Funmi Kehinde, a Masters student in IT with Strategic Innovation and Management Studies at Kingston University, London.

 In April 2013, I volunteered at Kingston Welcare Charity and ran a jewellery workshop in which I taught ten children between the ages of 4-6 years how to design necklaces, bracelets and also key-rings.

It was a fun and fulfilling moment for me, because it allowed me to pass on my jewellery-making knowledge to young children. The experience also made me understand children better and helped me learn how to communicate at their level.  My project was a student-led volunteering project which meant I had to organise the project and ensure it was successful. I got very valuable help from Jemma Houghton, one of the KUSU Volunteering Co-ordinators who constantly motivated and supported me throughout the planning process and running the workshop.

Akinda proudly wearing the necklace she made. 

Running this project was not only fun and fulfilling but also helped me develop new skill sets including time management, research, team work, budget planning, project management and communication skills, all of which are valuable in making one more employable. The best part of running the workshop was seeing the smiles on the faces of the children when they successfully designed their bracelets and I also got a bracelet designed for me by one of the children called Holly J

Volunteering is a great experience and I would encourage others to find some time along their university work to do some volunteering. I love to volunteer and help others out in any little way I can because I strongly believe in making a positive impact to my community, generation and world. In future I hope to try out other ranges of volunteering such as mentoring young children, youths in schools and the community and hopefully set up a mentoring organisation which is dedicated towards mentoring and empowering children and youths towards greatness in life.

You can be whatever you want to be, if you only try...and if you fail keep trying to you succeed!

Thank you KUSU Volunteering for this life-time experience!

Funmi Kehinde.

MSc. IT with Innovation and Management Studies

Kingston University, London.