The Volunteering Team in Careers and Placements are here to help you find volunteering opportunities that will help you to build your skills and confidence, gain fantastic work experience for your CV and enhance your wellbeing, all whilst making a huge difference to the city you’re studying in! 

As the new academic year starts, we wanted to take a minute to say hello and let you know about the programmes you can get involved in to #seizetheyear.

Sarah Rafferty – Community Projects Manager

Sarah is the head of Volunteering and leads on Community Projects. Community Projects are team based opportunities in which students volunteer with a community partner to tackle a local challenge, such as sustainability. This term we have five projects you can apply for.  Be a Community Sustainability Champion, generating sustainability action plans or do some digital marketing for the charity sector, RSPCA, Yorkshire Energy Doctor or Refill Cafe. You could also research stories about incredible women who have made a difference in York, be a photography coach with the Scouts, or learn more about Japanese storytelling, Kamishibai. 

What does Sarah think is the best thing about volunteering? “The best thing for me about volunteering, especially when I was at University, was getting to meet lots of new people, and it helped me find a career path!”

Charlotte Wainwright – Operations Manager

Charlotte is Operations Manager for Volunteering and oversees York Students in Schools and charity volunteering. York Students in Schools is an award-winning scheme that connects students from the University of York with local schools, to help make a difference to the lives of young people in York. Every year, around 700 students support schools and learning through a wide range of placements and projects, from nursery to college levels. This term, you can apply to be a classroom assistant, GCSE tutor or Maths coach, or sign up to deliver speech and language assessments.

Every term, we promote opportunities with local charities and organisations that ask for support for students across a range of sectors including health and wellbeing, heritage and sport. This term, you can work with York Carers Centre, York Neighbours Centre, Yorkshire School of Dance, Older Citizens Advocacy York, Move the Masses, Visit York, The Snappy Trust, The Wilberforce Trust, the City of York Council’s Youth Offending Team, Castle Howard, Bedern Hall, York FUTSAL Club, The Island, Jorvik, Scouts,  Musical Connections or York Cares.

What does Charlotte think is the best thing about volunteering? “You get to give back to the city that is your home for three or more years. It’s great to know you can make a difference and leave a lasting legacy.”

Daisy Kemp – Volunteering Project Officer

Daisy is our Volunteering Project Officer. As well as helping to develop opportunities that are perfect for UoY students, she also makes sure you are fully prepared for your volunteering role by designing training sessions for volunteers. From lesson planning and project management, to team work and employability, you can be sure you’ll have all the knowledge needed to excel in your role – as well as the tools to talk about the skills you’ve gained through volunteering to potential employers. 

What does Daisy think is the best thing about volunteering? “I like meeting new and varied people who you wouldn’t normally come across in your day to day and hearing their stories and feedback on the work you’ve done. It’s helped me feel more confident when meeting new people in future roles”

Georgette Pooley – Volunteering Administrator 

Georgette is our Volunteering Administrator and is on hand to answer any questions you might have about volunteering. If you have any questions about the volunteering process, whether that be applying for roles, on placement queries, or what you can do after your volunteering experience, you can get in touch with her through our dedicated volunteering email. 

Here at York, we like to thank our volunteers for their outstanding contributions to local communities, so if you have a story to share, let us know! You could be featured on our Instagram and Twitter accounts, or even receive a prestigious student volunteering award at our annual celebration in May. 

What does Georgette think is the best thing about volunteering? “You get to see how your contribution can mean so much to another person/cause. It is also a great way to increase your confidence and gain skills that can be used in the future.”

So what are you waiting for? #SEIZETHEYEAR – VOLUNTEER!
Apply via Handshake by 8am on 1st November.