Newsletter 2013 Term 3
VOLUNTEERING
VOLUNTEERING NEWSLETTER
Term 3
Hello all and welcome to our first edition of the Beds SU Volunteering newsletter. As a team we felt there was much to be celebrated in the achievements of both our students and associated organisations with regards to volunteering and giving back. With this in mind we created a means to share this with you all and we hope you enjoy it.
The Volunteering Team
STUDENT VOLUNTEER I decided to do volunteering instead of freelancing, and I found this really rewarding as my time and work was really appreciated by the charities.
Prateek Mathur a 2nd Year BA Animation student has certainly got a very impressive CV. He has produced design work for the Olympics, worked on Hollywood blockbusters such as the Green Lantern and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and his designs are soon to be featured in the new student magazine LOUD! How did he do all this you ask? By offering his time as a VOLUNTEER. “When I was in India I used to volunteer for a lot of stuff and I feel happy while volunteering. When I came here I saw people needed help to promote their brand. I can give them my support in designing and promoting their stuff and by working with various organisations I have been able to find out the kind of things the clients are looking for” explains Prateek. Prateek’s work for a wide range of organisations saw him win one of the Young Person of the Year (YOPEY) Awards in 2012, something he certainly wasn’t anticipating: “I was not expecting to win at all. I was just interested in volunteering and trying to help people. I didn’t realise there were any awards until I was nominated. “Often people who study art, design, animation and other similar courses opt to do freelancing. I thought that a lot of people and organisations might need help in these fields so I decided to do volunteering instead of freelancing, and I found this really rewarding as my time and work was really appreciated by the charities” Prateek has taken the experience he has gained and is now working on his own movie and graphic novel for which he has designed all the graphics and the trailer and has managed to attract over 30,000 fan followers, he said: “If I hadn’t volunteered I wouldn’t have achieved as much as I have. I have worked for lots of companies and now I’m working on my own movie at the moment.” Check out Prateek’s extensive portfolio at www.visual3deffect.com
VOLUNTEERING NEWSLETTER
On Campus Events Bedford ‘An afternoon of volunteering workshops’: Tuesday 19th March from 12 pm - 4pm.
Term 3
Current Volunteering Vacancies
BeeZee Bodies, Alzheimer’s Society, Autism Bedfordshire and UpRising offered workshops that both explored the different aspects of their organisation in a fun and creative manner as well as offering firsthand the voluntary opportunities their organisations have.
Youth Worker Volunteer:
Luton
Football Coaching/ Assistant Trainers:
Luton Campus held a Volunteering Fayre: Wednesday 20th March from 10 am - 2 pm with over 28 organisations booking a place. Victoria Bray-Whitworth, Community Fundraiser at Alzheimer’s Society attended both events and remarked: “I think from personal experience you come out of university, you try to get a job and you need skills, you need the experience. From a charity perspective I think it’s a perfect opportunity not only for students to join us and understand from volunteer workshops and volunteer fayres there are opportunities to get those skills straight out of university and even during university.” And it seems that students were also impressed with the opportunities and information on offer. Alice, 2nd year Psychology student said: “It was really helpful it was better than looking online as we could talk to people and sign up there and then.”
Carefirst, Bedford
Athletico Europa FA
Volunteer Advisor: Luton Rights
Playground Support Volunteer: Children's Link, Luton
Support Volunteer:
Thank you to all those involved for helping to make both events such a great success! SMART, Aylesbury explored the different aspects of their organisation in a fun and creative manner as well as offering firsthand the voluntary oppo
Why Volunteer ? In our current economic climate it is now harder than ever before to get a job. Volunteering not only allows you to give back and gain experience of a professional working environment, it could be the difference between you and another candidate when applying for a job.
For more Vacancies please visit bedssu.co.uk/volunteer to register and then browse JobSavvi Grad for all our opportunities.
Contact us! To register as a student looking for volunteer opportunities or if you are an organisation looking for volunteers visit www.bedssu.co.uk/volunteer or drop into Beds SU and speak to a campus representative:
LUTON
BEDFORD
OTHER
Andrea Thorogood Volunteering Manager Email: Andrea.Thorogood@beds.ac.uk Tel: 01582 489173
Danita Goodwin Community Projects Officer Email: Danita.Goodwin@beds.ac.uk Tel: 01234 793044
Mary Jurance Community Projects Manager Email: Mary.Jurance@beds.ac.uk Tel: 01582 489173
VOLUNTEERING