Last year, UCL students collectively gave 63,400 hours of their time as volunteers within London. That's the equivalent of one very busy person volunteering for over 33 working years! In fact, it represents the efforts of 2209 students who got involved via the Volunteering Service.
Those hours were undoubtedly well spent - our charity partners have told us how UCL students help strengthen bonds within communities, improve the well-being of other people and improve access to educational opportunities and the labour market. They've also commented on how students have useful skills and knowledge and produce work of high quality. We've included a few testimonials from our partner organisations below.
Nikki Barnett from C4WS Homeless Project commended their volunteers and said “Wow! What a fantastic group of volunteers that came from UCL. The guests at the shelter were so thrilled to be supported by such lovely and enthusiastic students. We are very grateful to for the support that we received from UCL and it made such a valuable impact some of the most vulnerable people in our community. Thank you UCL.”
Linda Kelly from One Housing also had nothing but good things to say about UCL volunteers, saying that "Working with students has been a joy. The most important things an organisation like us need are partners who are flexible, supportive, adaptable, have a sense of sense of humour and patience. UCL students have all of the above in abundance."
And it's not just the wider community that is impacted by our students' volunteering, as the volunteers themselves have told us how volunteering has improved their own wellbeing - through learning new things, feeling more connected with people and gaining a greater sense of purpose. Many students also improved their chances of getting paid work and gained insights into their academic courses.
If you'd like to know more about the difference UCL students make, please do have a peek at our annual review.
And if you'd like to be part of this success story - we'd love to hear from you!
