Welcome
to Contact
Student
Volunteers!
We’d like to take this opportunity to
congratulate you on deciding to join one
of the largest and friendliest associations
in the Students’ Union.
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Why
become a What can
volunteer? you offer?
• To meet new people • Time, energy and
and have fun enthusiasm
• To learn and develop • Your specialist skills
new skills (e.g. maths, language,
• To gain experience law, computer, sports,
and enhance your arts, gardening or just
employability being able to listen).
• To road test a career
• To get involved in
your local community
• To help others and
make a difference
• Volunteering not only
benefits others it can
benefit you too
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How can you make
a difference?
The most important things you can offer to any
volunteering project are your time and energy. It’s
amazing what an impact just a few hours each week
can have on the local community and other people’s
lives. Working with children and young people could
improve their educational opportunities and
achievements. Helping at a day centre could enable
more activities to be run than ever before. Listening
to a child read for 15 minutes a week will greatly
improve their reading ability.
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Becoming a Volunteer Who we are...
• A student led organisation associated
with the Students’ Union
• Seven elected executives volunteering
their time to run Contact
• A volunteering team who work with the
executives in running Contact
• Over 1400 members (in 2009/10)
volunteering in
• over 100 different projects each year
What we do...
• We enable students to become involved
with voluntary work in the local
community
• The Volunteering team will encourage
students to develop and run projects
themselves
• The Volunteering team help students
develop skills through a range of long and
short term projects and one-off projects
• The Volunteering team facilitate or
arrange relevant training
• The Volunteering team co-ordinate
the Leicester Award for Volunteering
(Community Engagement) to accredit the
skills gained through volunteering (the
award appears on the student transcript)
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Our Goals...
To increase the number
of students engaging in
volunteering activities
Increase Contact’s presence
and accessibility within the
University
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The Contact Executive
Committee
Contact is run by a committee of students, elected
each year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM),
which is usually held just before Easter. The
executives meet weekly throughout term-time
to direct the organisation, and also spend
some time promoting Contact and meeting
with students. Committee positions and the
current post holders are listed below, so feel
free to contact any of them to find out more.
Rights and
Responsibilities
As a member of Contact you have certain rights such
as the right to a clear description of your role and
knowing who is responsible for supporting you in
your volunteering. There are responsibilities alongside
this, such as agreeing to a level of commitment and
acting in a responsible manner as a representative of
Contact. The full list of rights and responsibilities can
be found on our website along with our other policies
including Health & Safety; Child Protection & Equal
Opportunities.
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Expenses
What you can expect It’s an important principle of Contact that
volunteering should only cost you your time;
so please remember to claim back any agreed
expenses you have incurred. (please refer
to the expenses policy that can be found on
our website) Some projects will refund travel
expenses. However, if they don’t, please see
the Treasurer or the Volunteer Co-ordinator in
Contact who will be able to help.
Training Opportunities
Many of our projects have their own specific
training programmes that cover the areas
needed to volunteer effectively on the project.
In addition, Contact organises several training
courses during the year, on anything from First
Aid to Sign Language. These programmes will
be advertised to you via the Contact e-bulletin,
on our website, and in the Contact office.
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Making the most of your
volunteering
The Student Development Zone (SDZ)
The Student Development Zone is on the second floor of the David
Wilson Library. This is where the Volunteering Team are based and you
can make an appointment to see a member of the Volunteering Team
at the SDZ helpdesk. We run regular information sessions, volunteering
workshops & events in the SDZ to help you get the most out of
your volunteering. Visit the SDZ for information and guidance on
volunteering (local & international), work experience, careers and help
with your academic studies. You can also book an appointment with
a Careers Advisor or Study Advisor, have your CV checked and find
out more about events such as careers fairs, workshops and employer
presentations. On the web visit our website for up to date information
on volunteering events, training and workshops. You can register to
become a member of Contact online and sign up for all of our training
and events. Visit us online at le.ac.uk/volunteering
Leicester Award
Student volunteers can apply for a place on the Volunteering Award,
part of the University’s Leicester Award Scheme (Community
Engagement) which will appear on your transcript upon graduation.
The benefit of participating in the award is not only the formal
recognition of your volunteering on your degree transcript but also
the ability to articulate the skills and experience gained as a result of
your volunteering. In today’s graduate job market, employers want to
see evidence of transferable skills such as teamwork, communication
and problem solving which can all be gained through volunteering.
The Volunteering Award equips you with the tools to reflect on your
volunteering experience and provides you with evidence to use in your
CV and job applications. For information visit the website for details of
how to register.
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How to get started
1. Make sure you’ve registered online with Contact
Student Volunteers. Once registered, you’ll receive our
weekly e-bulletin to keep you updated on volunteering
opportunities.
2. Browse the opportunities on the website. We keep the
website regularly updated with opportunities, news and
details of volunteering events coming up soon.
or...
3. Attend a volunteering workshop where you can find out
about a range of opportunities and to discover more about
volunteering. You’ll find details of the workshops on our
website.
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Community Challenge
Projects
Curious about volunteering but cautious about
commitment? Try a one-off community challenge!
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Where to find us
The Contact Student Volunteers Executive Committee can
usually be found in the ARC (Activities Resource Centre) in the
Students’ Union building. The Volunteering Team can be found
in the Student Development Zone on the 2nd floor of the David
Wilson Library.