Student Volunteering Week is a time to showcase the positive impact that students have on their communities. It is a week to recognise and celebrate the efforts of student volunteers. SVC volunteering projects do just that.
To celebrate the week, we caught up with Adrienne Earls, Skills and Volunteering Cymru (SVC) Manager, as the team start preparing for this year’s Student Volunteering Week.
Below you can find out more about the range of activities and events SVC are hosting this week!
For those who are unfamiliar with SVC – could you please give us an introduction?
Hello, well, Student Volunteering Cymru is an independent charity that was set up in the 1960s by students from University of South Wales who wanted to take advantage of the access to resources students had that could help with the wider community.
From that time until now, we continue to grow, and now have 32 different projects that run across South Wales in Rhondda Cynon Taf, The Vale of Glamorgan, and Cardiff. We are always recruiting new volunteers!
Who can volunteer with SVC?
SVC is open to anyone over the age of 18 who would like to volunteer.
We have lots of community volunteers and students involved at SVC with many of our projects taking place in term time.
We have close links with the 3 local universities, and the majority of our volunteers are students.
But we also have a wonderful group of valuable community volunteers that keep the consistency throughout the year.
What projects do SVC run?
We have many internal projects that we run as a team with our volunteers.
We do lots of work with Innovate Trust and the people they support. We also have plenty of other projects helping beneficiaries from age 5 to people in their 70s and 80s!
Some of SVC volunteering projects include:
Young Carers Club
Volunteers plan day trips for children in Cardiff who are classed as young carers.
This means they have either a parent or sibling with some form of disability and may be required to provide some of the support and care.
The project aims to provide a variety of trips and activities that these children may not otherwise get the opportunity to access.
It also give them the chance to have a break from the stresses that they face at home.
Befriending
The aim of this project is to offer social and emotional enrichment.
Beneficiaries experience befriending through a range of activities.
It is an invaluable opportunity to befriend adults with learning and physical disabilities. This project is very flexible, and SVC match you based on your interests and availability.
Laugh Out Loud Fridays
LOL Fridays is a fantastic social club for young adults with Down’s Syndrome.
The club takes place every other Friday evening. Volunteers assist young people to engage in various different activities, in a rented hall.
Other activities and partnerships
SVC also have a number of partnership projects with Cardiff and Vale Health Board, South Wales Police, and the Huggard Centre.
Why do you think students benefit from volunteering?
I think there are, sadly, still a lot of negative stereotypes around students.
That is what we hope SVC gives the opportunity to dispel and celebrate the work our student volunteers do.
Many people are unaware of what students actually do in their communities.
Volunteering is an opportunity to learn and try new things. It offers tasters for Psychiatry, Psychology and Social Science courses which is really beneficial for experience.
People bring different skills and ideas every day.
How are SVC student volunteers helping beneficiaries?
Generally, the people we work with tend not to cross paths with students in their everyday lives, so it is a great opportunity to build relationships and build bridges.
Students come from all over the world, from different cultures and different religious.
It opens up a lovely opportunity for our beneficiaries to learn and develop warmth and understanding towards people from different parts of the world, which I think is really important.
SVC Volunteering Week activities
SVC is hosting activities Monday to Friday throughout Student Volunteering Week.
Anyone can join, from a couple of hours to a whole day!
This week is the perfect chance for students to learn new skills, meet new people, and get a taster for volunteering with no commitments!
Monday 10th of February
9.20 am to 12.30pm or 9.20am to 2pm: Environmental conservation volunteering at Forest Farm nature reserve with the Cardiff Rangers and the One Planet project.
Tuesday 11th of February
9.15am to 2.30pm: Environmental conservation volunteering at Porthkerry Country Park with the Porthkerry Park Project (travel provided).
Wednesday 12th of February
10am to 12pm: Tree planting with One Planet and Coed Caerdydd at Splott Community Centre.
12.30pm to 2pm: Barbeque and games at the Huggard Homeless Centre in Cardiff.
Thursday 13th of February
2pm to 3.30pm: Clean up Cathays. Join us in making Cathays green!
Friday 14th of February
4pm to late: Digital Valentine’s-themed party for disabled adults. Everyone is welcome to join!
To sign up to volunteer, please contact info@svcymru.org stating your preferred event(s).
No experience is required, and travel expenses are reimbursed.
