During the Welcome Period, the Volunteering Service ran a series of Welcome One-Offs for students to try out volunteering. These opportunities ranged from a MasterChef Challenge to eco-soap making, and were a great way for students to try out volunteering, meet other students, and make an impact on the community.
One-off volunteering is perfect for those interested in volunteering, but not able to or wanting to commit to long-term volunteering roles. One-off volunteering is easy to fit around busy schedules, and a great way to build new skills and gain new opportunities in just one day!
"I would like to do volunteer regularly but the problem for me is that I live quite far from their site. If it was long-term then I would worry about whether I can be there regularly, so one-off volunteering was a really good opportunity."
Tianyi Yao, 2nd year BSc Psychology with Education student, who took part in the Share x UCL Masterchef Challenge
"The new communication and inter-personal skills we have are something you can really take forward to other volunteering opportunities and even careers as well. It’s a great experience to talk about in any kind of interview, and a really interesting thing to have in your profile as well."
Megan Fisher, 2nd year BSc Economics student, who took part in the Share x UCL Masterchef Challenge
The Volunteering Service has a huge range of volunteering opportunities available, including many regular one-off events. You can check out all of the opportunities available on our online directory!
Read more about all of the one-off events below:
Share x UCL MasterChef 2022
Our One-Off events kicked off on 20th September with the Share x UCL Masterchef Challenge run by Share Community. Share Community is a centre for learning and wellbeing support for adults with learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, and mental health needs. This one-day volunteering opportunity provided students with the opportunity to partner up with a service user to bake as a team to compete for the Share & UCL MasterChef trophy.
Elias Khadraoui, a 2nd year BSc Mathematics student, spoke to us about his personal highlight of the event:
“My student was new in Share so he was a bit shy at the beginning. I still remember at the end when we made the cookies, he was really proud and smiley. Even the staff were really happy about that, so that was a great memory.”
If you would like to get involved in the work that Share Community does, they have many regular and one-off volunteering roles available. Check out the upcoming Share Community Horticulture x UCL 2022 one-off event, or regular volunteering roles such as a Social Buddy Volunteer or Digital Skills Volunteer.
A full list of Share Community’s opportunities can be found here!
One Housing - Afternoon Tea
On 27th September, UCL students helped to support an afternoon tea event organised by One Housing at their older peoples' service in Protheroe House, Haringey. On the day, students assisted in setting up the event, socialising with customers, serving the tea, and getting involved in some musical entertainment!
One Housing aims to provide to support, opportunities, and recovery services to vulnerable people across the wider community.
If you think you might be interested in One Housing and the work that they do, check out their volunteering opportunities for an Administrative Volunteer and Befriender Volunteer!
Cody Dock - Eco-soap and paper making at Cody Dock
Cody Dock ran a volunteering workshop on 29th September where UCL students helped to make soap and paper to sell Cody Dock’s winter ‘Frost Fair’. Everything was made from recycled materials and plants gathered from Cody Dock’s own garden.
Cyn Thea Yu, a second year MSci Biological Sciences student, spoke about some of the highlights of the Cody Dock event:
"I got to know a lot of other UCL students that I would not have met otherwise. I also think that what really surprised me was that I got to know a lot about the area: a lot about the Thames and its history, and about the people who live there. I learnt a lot about the dock itself, and its historical importance."
Cody Dock is one of London's most exciting creative spaces, providing a gateway to the Lea River Park. It is home to a gallery, gardens, cafe, and bar that make this the perfect pit stop for exploring The Line Sculpture trail and Lower Lea River.
If you are interested in Cody Dock, you can get involved by signing up as a Dock Restoration Volunteer or a Conservation and Citizen Science Volunteer!
Age UK Kensington and Chelsea - Tea Party
On the 20th of September, UCL students had the opportunity to volunteer at a tea party run by Age UK Kensington and Chelsea. The event took place at St Cuthbert's Church in partnership with Opera Holland Park in remembrance of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Student volunteers helped to set-up, serve drinks and food, socialise with over 55 Kensington and Chelsea residents who attended the event.
It was a great opportunity for students to meet students and the community alike, whilst also building valuable skills and experience.
Age UK runs a huge range of volunteering opportunities, from halloween parties, to knitting teachers, to online language tutoring. Check out over a dozen of their opportunities available for UCL students on our website!
Green Shoots Foundation - R&D for a sustainable sanitary pad
The One-Off event with the Green Shoots Foundation on the 22nd September gave students the opportunity to get involved with their project GreenFlow, for a day of researching and designing sustainable sanitary pads.
GreenFlow aims to develop a natural sanitary pad using natural materials, in response to the global need for safe, non-toxic, environmentally sustainable sanitary pads and comprehensive menstrual education.
This provided the fantastic opportunity for volunteers to take part in research and development for their product prototype. Students worked in groups to generate ideas for digital marketing, fundraising, and materials, before reporting their progress back to the whole group at the end of the day.
If you’re interested by the work done by Green Shoots, you can find out more about them and their available opportunities here!
Fulham Palace - Collections and gardening
The One-Off with the Fulham Palace Trust on the 26th September was a fantastic opportunity for students interested in collections, gardening and working for a heritage site or museum.
Fulham Palace has been the historic house and garden of the Bishop of London since 704. Their aim is to engage and provide insight about over 1300 years of English History through their museum, special exhibitions, education centre, Tudor courtyard, Victorian Chapel, botanical gardens and cafe on site, all of which are completely free for all to visit.
Volunteers worked alongside the Head Gardener and the Collections and Conservation Manager to learn more about the work that goes into keeping Fulham palace running. They helped with a huge range of tasks on the day, from cleaning the chapel, inventory in the museum store, to working in the beautiful walled garden.
If you’re interested in volunteering with Fulham Palace Trust, they have a large range of opportunities, including a Garden Volunteer, Graphic Design Volunteer, or a Green Woodworker! A full list of their opportunities can be found here.
Heath Hands - Go Wild about Golders Hill Park
On the 26th September, UCL students worked alongside Heath Hands Rangers to become Conservation Volunteers for the day.
Heath Hands is an organisation that runs practical conservation work, ecological monitoring, wildlife interpretation and event support to help preserve the wildlife and habitat of Hampstead Heath.
Volunteers helped with a range of practical conservation and habitat management tasks such as gardening and litter picking, whilst exploring and learning about the beautiful areas of Golders Hill Park, the Hill Garden, and Pergola.
If you would like to get involved in volunteering with Heath Hands, you can check out their opportunities as an Office Volunteer or Wildlife Interpreter.
