Xiaohongshu
We’re your One-Off Volunteering Ambassadors, here to help you get the most out of time-light volunteering! Throughout the year, we’ve had so many unique opportunities to give back to the community, meet new people and make a difference. We wanted to reflect on our experiences and share them with you…
Term One kicked off with a trip to Calthorpe Community Garden to do a spot of painting; QCCA to help with some weeding; Canal and River Trust for a day of litter picking from a canoe; and Henna Asian Women’s Group to support local women in using technology. We got to try Cambodian food for the first time at Green Shoots’ Supper Club and helped out at Endometriosis UK’s Research Conference at Westminster University. This was a fun month and a great time to get involved in One-Off Volunteering – perfect for testing out roles and making new friends!
The festive season is all about giving back and bringing happiness to others and we did more volunteering than ever before – from wrapping Christmas presents with St Marks Hospital Foundation and ECHO, to a stand-up comedy gig raising awareness and funds for RSBC. Volunteering at this time of year feels so rewarding and there’s always so much to get involved with. Christmas Fayres, a Santa Dash and Winter Wonderlands were a fantastic way to get us in the festive spirit!
One of the highlights of this year was definitely the Chinese New Year celebrations. This is the most important festival in the Lunar Calendar and we had the chance to join the mascot team, each dressing up as a Chinese zodiac animals. In our fluffy, colourful costumes, we danced our way through the crowded streets of London - an experience we will never forget!
February arrived and the romantic season started! We volunteered with Age UK Kensington to bring joy and cheer to local people, celebrating love and music with a concert and afternoon tea. There were games nights and events all focussed on combatting isolation and strengthening bonds within the local community. Such a feel-good month!
In Reading Week, we saw a new kind of One-Off Volunteering event take place, focused on problem-solving and skills development. Social Hackathons were run by the Volunteering Service in collaboration with four local charities. Over the course of a single working day, groups of UCL volunteers worked to find solutions to problems the charities were currently facing. There will be more of these taking place in November and you can already register your interest in taking part!
As the warmer weather started, we turned our attention to marathons, Easter Fayres and egg hunts. It’s always nice to get outdoors and do some volunteering, especially when exam season strikes! We were able to enjoy some fantastic events, such as a Garden Party at Lambeth Palace, Taste of London and a Summer Wellbeing Festival. At London’s annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, volunteers were able to take part in a tradition dating back thousands of years.
We’ve gained so many new experiences this year and met loads of different people. We’d like to thank the UCL Volunteering Service and every UCL volunteer for all their hard work. We hope to see you next year for more volunteering!
Written by Tanja and Grimonia - One-Off Volunteering Ambassadors
A great place to start your volunteering journey is at our Volunteering Fairs in October, so save the dates.
And why not start now? Take a look at upcoming One-Off Volunteering opportunities and see why our Ambassadors love it so much!