Student Volunteering Week is well underway this week. On Monday and Tuesday, we offered opportunities to meet charities and pick the brains of our student volunteers on the Concourse. As we gather our marigolds and bin bags ready for today’s Community Clear Up at Portswood Recreation Ground, we caught up with some of our members to ask them what they get out of volunteering their time.

Volunteering can add something to your social lives as a hobby as well as being an activity that can enhance your CV.

Ambrose Chou is a Youth Rep for his Parish Church and is … Read the rest

There is nothing more satisfying and worthwhile than giving. And what better way to start than with our annual Student Volunteering Week, which is back for another year between Monday 22nd-Sunday 28th February. You can get involved with events, talks, volunteering tasters and much more across the University and Southampton.

What is volunteering?

Volunteering is ‘freely offering something’, usually your time, to a cause.

It is a common misconception that volunteering is just helping charity. It can be that, but it may also include:

• Coaching your local football team
• Representing your Halls of Residences in a Halls Committee
• Organising an

Nominations are now open for the SUSU Excellence in Volunteering Awards 2015. These special awards celebrate the many varieties of volunteering that take place within the Students’ Union.

Students can be nominated for seven categories: Commitment, Innovation, Engagement, Leadership, Impact, Collaboration and The Volunteer.

The awards have been designed to help students’ employability, demonstrating will have some transferrable skills and values that students can visualise through their specific EVA.

You can nominate for the awards now at www.susu.org/evas.

Nominations will close on the 20 March at 5pm.  The winner will then be presented their award at the ceremony on … Read the rest

We are very pleased to congratulate Natasha Unwin, a University of Southampton student and co-ordinator of the Southampton Hub society, on being one of five students nationally to be shortlisted for the Student Volunteering Award.

Tasha was nominated by Student Hubs, who are the national charity that the local branch society Southampton Hub is a part of, and was put forward for her continuing dedication in supporting other student volunteers in to taking action.

Southampton Hub is a network of students from the University of Southampton, who are engaged in changing society for the better. If … Read the rest