Volunteer as a student
Volunteering can be one of the most rewarding and enriching life experiences you will ever have. It's also a great way to improve your chances of getting a job.
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Are you a UCLan student interested in volunteering?
Discover your next volunteering opportunity
Become a volunteer
If you're a student at UCLan you can register with us to become a volunteer. There are lots of volunteering opportunities and you can apply for any vacancies that interest you. We'll also get in touch regularly to let you know about the other volunteering and learning opportunities on offer.
With over 500 volunteering opportunities on offer, you’re bound to find something that inspires you. You could help lead projects in areas such as:
- Business
- Computing
- Events
- Finance
- Law
- Management
- Media
- Sports
You'll gain skills and experience in areas directly related to your interests or career aspirations.
Benefits of volunteering with CVCL
- Get valuable work experience
- Make a positive contribution to the local community and beyond
- Gain nationally accredited leadership and management qualifications
- Volunteering activity is added to your transcript when you graduate
- Meet new people and extend your network of contacts
- Develop the skills that employers want
- Improve your mental health and wellbeing
- Win awards presented at our annual Volunteering Celebration Event
Once you start volunteering, make sure you register with CVCL and log your hours on your volunteering account. You could then achieve the following awards:
- Bronze award for 30 volunteering hours
- Silver award for 60 volunteering hours
- Gold award for 100 volunteering hours
- Platinum award for 300 volunteering hours
- Vice Chancellors Award of Excellence for 500 volunteering hours
If you want to volunteer with children or vulnerable adults, you'll need to get a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. A DBS check is a way for organisations to check your criminal record, to help decide whether you are a suitable person to volunteer for them. Most organisations will carry out their own DBS checks, but some cannot afford to do this, so CVCL can undertake the check on their behalf.
Complete our online form to request a CVCL DBS check. This allows the us to start the DBS process. You'll then need to follow these steps:
- Complete a full online DBS application form. You will receive information on how to do this in an email from the Online Disclosure Service. Please check your junk mail if you do not to receive this email.
- Once submitted, please email the CVCL Team to arrange a day and time to have your identity documents verified.
Please note that any identity documents you provide must be original documents. We cannot accept photocopies, photographs or scanned documents.
A DBS check can take up to 6 weeks to process, so please be patient.
Once you have received your DBS certificate, check for any highlighted issues. If there are none, you can then inform the host organisation that you can start volunteering with them. Your host organisation may ask to see your DBS certificate. Please don’t forget to log your volunteering hours.
If you receive your DBS certificate and there are convictions or cautions listed, please do not be discouraged. This does not automatically exclude you from volunteering. Please email the CVCL Team to discuss your options further.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, CVCL will require you to watch an induction video as part of the volunteering registration process. The purpose of the induction is to ensure that you're able to carry out your volunteering roles as effectively as possible. The induction video is less than 10 minutes and covers topics like how to get started, how to log your volunteering hours, and what awards you can achieve for volunteering.
Your volunteering is managed by you and is an opportunity to enhance your university experience. Home students can volunteer for as many hours as you want. However, it's important that you don't take on too much, which then leaves little time for studying. Browse our opportunities to find something that fits in with your existing commitments.
If you are an international student studying on a tier 4 visa, please be aware that your visa states that you can only work for up to 20 hours a week. This includes volunteering.
International students on an exchange visa are only here for one semester. Unfortunately, you have a zero limit, so you can't undertake any volunteering.
If you are an international student studying on a tier 4 visa, please be aware that your visa states that you can only work for up to 20 hours a week. This also includes volunteering. So, if you do have a part-time job for 15 hours per week, you would have five hours remaining to volunteer. If you worked part-time for 18 hours per week, then this would leave you with only 2 hours per week to volunteer.
International students on an exchange visa are only here for one semester. Unfortunately, you have a zero limit, so you would not be able to volunteer.
For community-based volunteering, most organisations will provide training opportunities or at the very least, an induction. Please make enquiries with your host organisation for further information.
CVCL offer a range of accredited Continuous Professional Development (CPD) qualifications to students who are interested in undertaking further training whilst they volunteer. This incudes:
- Mentoring
- Research Skills
- Impact of Volunteering
- Global Leadership Development programme
Qualifications are being developed regularly, so keep a look out on our learning and development webpage.
If you are volunteering with children or vulnerable adults, you may be asked to complete a DBS check. This is a way for organisations to check your criminal record and decide whether you are a suitable person to volunteer with them.
Most organisations will carry out their own DBS checks, but some can't afford to do this. In this situation, CVCL can undertake the check on their behalf. To request a DBS check, please see Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for more information.
Please note that DBS checks can take up to six weeks, so please be patient. And remember, you only need one if you are working with children or vulnerable adults.
Yes, we’ve designed our volunteering opportunities so that you can volunteer regularly. There's no limit on the amount of opportunities you sign up for - you could volunteer on a short-term basis or as a one off. We just ask you to log your hours as you complete them. This is so that we can keep track of how much your volunteering efforts are boosting the local economy and helping you to gain experience.
We encourage you to get involved and take advantage of opportunities throughout the summer. Whether you want to volunteer in Lancashire or where you live out of term time, you can still log your volunteering hours.
For community-based volunteering, you are responsible for making your own transport arrangements. Some organisations are able to reimburse their volunteers travel expenses. Please make enquiries with your host organisation for more information.
Transport is sometimes provided to events and activities which CVCL have organised. This will be arranged with you as and when you volunteer for these opportunities.
Quality standard
- The Centre for Volunteering and Community Leadership (CVCL) have achieved the Investors for Volunteers quality standard until 2025. To meet the quality standard we were assessed in six quality areas. The mark indicates our appreciation for volunteers and our dedication to volunteering within the organisation.Investing in Volunteers