CVCL student newsletter January 2024

A Happy New Year to all of our student volunteers. We hope you all had a restful break and are ready for semester 2. You will have noticed that this edition of the newsletter is in a slightly different format. In fact, this newsletter is packed full of exciting information and updates, so sit back and enjoy.

Remember to log your hours

A little reminder to log your volunteering hours. If you do, you could be eligible for the following recognition and awards:

Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum Awards, including the prestigious Vice Chancellor's Award of Excellence
ILM Recognition Award in Volunteering
Your volunteering activity and student achievement listed on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR). This document accompanies your Degree certificate.

Volunteering Fairs

Not sure where you want to volunteer? Have no fear. We are hosting two volunteering fairs this semester in partnership with the Careers team. Further details are below.

Burnley social work and public services volunteering and careers fair

Date: 6 February 2024
Time: 11am - 1pm
Location: Social Space, Victoria Mill

Organisations attending:

Advocacy Focus
Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale CVS
Carers Link Lancashire
Down Town at Burnley
National Youth Advocacy Service
Samaritans
Calico

Preston social work and public services volunteering and careers fair

Date: 20 February 2024
Time: 11am - 2pm

Location: Student Achievement Services, Upper Ground floor, Student Centre

Organisations attending:

Community CVS
Inspire Youth Zone
Lancashire Mind
National Youth Advocacy Service
Play Inclusion Project
Pukar Disability Resource Centre
Sahara in Preston
Samaritans
Trust House

Global Leadership Development programme (GLDP)

So, this is a bit of an exciting one! During Achievement week in February 2024, we will be delivering our GLDP to a cohort of students and local sanctuary seekers. Would you like to be one of our student delegates who gets to participate in this dynamic and diverse programme? Only 20 places are available, so please register your interest now.

The GLDP is an exciting three-day learning opportunity that helps develop leadership skills.

The programme will be delivered on:

Monday 12 February 2024
Tuesday 13 February 2024
Wednesday 14 February 2024

You must be available to attend all programme days.

By attending the programme you will:

receive a certificate of completion
have had some fantastic experiences
develop new friendships
have some great examples for your CV
be able to train as a GLDP Facilitator so that you can empower others with the knowledge and skills that you have acquired

If you would like to attend the GLDP, then please register your interest now.

Students' Union

Looking for something different in the new year? The Students' Union has several volunteering projects that you can get involved in! Their projects are a great way to develop new skills and meet other students. For more information, please email the Students' Union.

Mental Health Matters project

Volunteers on this project can use their own experiences to influence how other people think about and act around mental health.

Join thousands of campaigners in workplaces, schools, communities and online who are making stigma and discrimination a thing of the past. This project brings students together to run events that promote positive approaches to mental health.

Community fridge project

A community fridge is a space where anyone can exchange food that would otherwise go to waste. Run by local volunteers, many fridges also provide a positive social space for local visitors to learn more about food, sustainable eating, growing your own and eating on a budget.

The Students' Union are looking for a team of volunteers to help set up and run a community fridge at UCLan. The roles will be varied and could include:

sourcing surplus food locally
re-stocking the fridge and checking best before and use-by dates
marketing and branding

You can get involved as much or as little as you want.

Forget me not project

Join us and become an Alzheimer's Society Dementia Friend. Take part in a range of activities and events designed to make our community more dementia friendly.

Through the Forget Me Not project, you will engage and support other students to become Dementia Friends. You will work together to shape the project. You can get involved in this project in several different ways:

recruiting more Dementia Friends
organising fundraising events
running events for local people living in care homes

Full Dementia Friend training will be provided.

Craft and food fair

Our craft and food fair project has been running for many years now. It gives students the opportunity to work with local companies and develop their organisational and team work skills. With three events a year to plan, there are several different roles available:

research
planning and liaising with stallholders
promotion
accounting
ensuring the smooth running of the market on the day

There is also a student section, so you could help support student businesses to attend the fair.

You can volunteer on a long-term, short-term or one-off basis.

Hedgehog friendly campus

Hedgehog Friendly Campus is a national accreditation programme funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS). Universities, FE colleges and primary schools across the UK are taking part to help bring hedgehogs back from the brink of extinction.

If you want to get involved in any of the following activities, then please sign up. We will then be in touch about when the next meeting is:

events e.g. litter picks, fundraising, making hedgehog houses
creating hedgehog feeding stations
hedgehog surveys
pond/lake audit at the arena
developing the Hedgehog Highways on campus by working with UCLan's grounds team
running campaigns to make campus safer for hedgehogs
promoting the hedgehog friendly campus over welcome week

One-off Wednesdays

Do you have an interest in volunteering but don’t have the time to give regularly to a volunteering project? One-off Wednesdays could be the perfect thing for you! Every Wednesday afternoon, the Students' Union runs a different volunteering activity that you can drop in and out of. So, if you only have 30 minutes to spare or a whole afternoon, then this is for you! One-off Wednesdays take place in the Students' Union café between 12pm and 3pm. See the Students' Union what’s on page for more details.

Burnley Leisure and Culture

Burnley Leisure would like to highlight two new volunteering opportunities available to students.

Active cycle pop up shop

There are plans to bring an active cycle pop up shop to Burnley for a 7 week period during spring 2024. We are looking for volunteers who have great customer service skills and the confidence to be the first point of contact as people arrive at the shop and main duties will include:

meeting and greeting customers
making bike sales and/or swaps
supporting other staff and organisations who may be working from the shop
having conversations with customers and telling them about other opportunities and signposting them accordingly

This is a great opportunity for people interested in partnership working and networking, cycling and or bike maintenance, recycling/upcycling, health and wellbeing and physical activity promotion. Please email Alexis Turner for more information.

Big Burnley walk

Burnley Leisure and Culture are looking for volunteers to support the Big Burnley Walk on Sunday 28 April 2024. The event will provide great opportunities for people interested in health and wellbeing and physical activity promotion, walking, nature and the outdoors, pride of place and promotion of Burnley, event planning and management. There are different walk routes of varying distance. We are looking for volunteers to support multiple roles on the day of the event including:

Support with registration and check in (8.30-11.30am)
Checkpoint support
Checking numbers and providing refreshments at different locations across the longer route

These opportunities are great for people who can drive and who are able to collect refreshments and materials to take to their checkpoint.

Trail walkers for all 3 routes

This role will involve taking down signage on route and it would be great if volunteers had some experience walking/navigating or be familiar with the route prior to the day of the event.

Please email Alexis Turner for more information.

Inspire Youth Zone

Inspire Youth Zone are a Children's Charity located in Chorley. They provide a range of open access sessions for young people and targeted provision for children and young people who may need specific or tailored support. They are open 7 days a week and sessions are delivered in the evenings and at weekends.

There are a range of volunteering opportunities available with Inspire Youth Zone:

Volunteer Play Worker
Volunteer Music Worker
Volunteer Football Youth Worker
Targeted Support Volunteer
Sports Volunteer Youth Worker
Mentor
Makers Zone Volunteer
Cookery Volunteer
Climbing Volunteer
Gym Volunteer
Arts and Crafts Volunteer
Dance Volunteer
Performing Arts Volunteer

Check out our volunteering website for more information.

There are also a range of benefits associated with volunteering with Inspire Youth Zone:

Travel expenses you incur by bus or train are reimbursed, so there is no cost for you to get there. Did you know that Inspire Youth Zone is just one stop on the train. Not only that, it is located in Chorley Town Centre, directly opposite both the train and bus stations
Free hot or cold meals are available to volunteers on session
Volunteers get free access to their gym (when not in use by young people)
Flexible working hours are offered to suit everyone
You can access a free youth zone membership for your children (over 8s)
Full in-house training is provided, as well as support and access to additional training, such as LGBTQ and Drug and Alcohol Awareness
Volunteers can earn Time Credits
Inspire Youth Zone will pay for your DBS check

Street Pastors

Did you know that there is support available when you are out?

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