Volunteering > Information for clubs & societies

Volunteering

Volunteering is an enjoyable way for you to make a difference, provides a fantastic opportunity for you to develop key skills for your future career and to check out possible career paths. On top of that it’s a great way to make new friends, to do something different from your studies and to get a different perspective of life.

We offer you the opportunity to volunteer in a wide variety of locally based organisations and community projects as well as for the Students' Union.

There are lots of options to choose from and we will help you find the volunteering placement that is right for you so contact us for more information.

► Information for clubs & societies

Link Up

Conservation volunteering Link Up enables sports clubs, societies and student groups to make a positive difference in the local community. The scheme helps students make links with local community and voluntary organisations to create volunteering projects that are of benefit to students and the wider local community. Link Up responds to the diverse needs of the community and is not duplicating schemes that already exist. This can be a one-off project or a longer term link;

One off volunteering opportunities
Team building days
Ongoing long term projects for clubs, societies and student groups with specific skills

Your Link Up project can take as much or as little time as you like, it really depends on the type of project you end up developing. Some project ideas would require a significant commitment and club or society members who were able to take part on a regular basis. Or you might decide to do a 'one off' event, it's up to you!

Below, you'll find information about previous Link Up projects and how to begin setting up your own project with our support.

Benefits

Students involved in Link Up will gain organisational, planning and communication skills, expand their remit of activities and create relations with different community groups. Link Up projects can be passed on from committee to committee and a culture of community volunteering will be created. Link Up offers your club or society the chance to make a positive difference to others. Participants will increase their skills and experience which can enhance their CV, which can be captured in the Sussex Plus webfolio.

Organisations and their service users will benefit from the skill sharing and exchange of new ideas.

Taking part in a Link Up project means your club or society can offer more activities for your members. It is a great team-building activity. Awards will be presented to the club and society that makes the most positive impact through their Link Up project. These will be awarded at the annual Student Awards.

Previous Link Up projects

You can read our case studies to find out what students thought of their Link Up projects.

2011-12

Project V also organised a football mini-tournament for the Justin Campaign in which local organisations as well as students participated, with a total of 10 teams.

3 IDS students conducted a service analysis together with the Black and Minority Ethnic Young People Project.

Sexpression linked up with the Brighton Aldridge Community Academy to facilitate a one off workshop about sexual health as part of the school's Deep Learning Day.

Inspir8 thaught school children how to grow their own herbs and celebrated the success of the project by selling pizza on campus.

Our annual Sports Challenge Day with the National Trust had 44 sports members attending from different clubs. A lot of scrub clearance work was completed with the help of the National Trust Wardens.

SUDS performed the play We'll Meet Again (by Rosanna Wood) for the Hove Stroke Club.

The Jewish Society linked up with READ International to help the organisation sorting books which will be shipped to Africa.

The Women's Cricket team organise Casual Cricket sessions every Friday during term time for students on campus.

The Circus Society facilitated a one off workshop with The Children Society Befriending Service.

The Women's Rugby team took part in a one off teambuilding day with the National Trust.

The Netball team organised a netball mini tournament for local school (BACA, Vardean School, Dorothy Stringer School and Cardinal Newman Catholic School).

Vardean team A won before Cardinal Newman Catholic School team A.

2010-11

The Film society set up film screenings in local residential care homes. They also organised a one-off intergenerational film screening.

The Men's Football Club linked up with the Justin campaign to raise funds for Football vs Homophobia by organising a Football Funday.

The Fencing club organised a one off fencing mini-tournament with local schools.

The Women's Cricket Club set up an after school project with a local school for 10 weeks during the summer term.

The Circus Society linked up with Nacro (a crime reduction charity) to offer a one off circus skills workshop to young people.

Project V, together with the Students' Union's sports department, organised a friendly basketball match between our Women's Basketball team and Dorothy Stringer High School.

Project V and the National Trust organised a one off conservation event for our sports clubs as part of Student Volunteering Week. We had a total of 74 people attend and 10 National Trust Wardens made sure we are all safe whilst volunteering. A big thank you also goes to Sussex Plus, who supported us financially.

The Football Club linked up with BACA (Brighton and Aldridge Community Academy). The club set up a 10 week football skills project for 16 BACA students who wanted to improve their football skills.

Breaking workshop The Breaking Society linked up with the Coldean Youth project to facilitate a one off workshop to 9-13 year olds.

The Fencing Club linked up with the Dorothy Stringer High School as well as the Brighton Aldridge Community Academy to facilitate fencing sessions for children who might otherwise not have the chance to get involved in this sport.

The Men's Rugby Club had a teambuilding day with the National Trust. This included cutting trees, scrub clearance as well as path clearance.

Part time postgraduate students took part in a one off volunteering opportunity with the National Trust at Devil's Dyke.

2009-10

SIFE delivered inspirational workshops to develop entrepreunership amongst students who were underacheiving at Falmer High School and Dorothy Stringer School.

We had a special link with Moulsecoomb Forest Garden & Wildlife Project for 2008/9. Volunteering days were available to sports clubs and societies every Friday throughout the year.

The Netball Club ran an after-school club for children at Bevendean Primary School.

The African Caribbean and Asian Society linked up with the Black and Minority Ethnic Young Peoples Project to develop joint work for Culture Festival, their annual arts showcase event.

BSMS Sexpression linked up with Varndean High School and delivered workshops about relationships, contraception and STIs.

"Project V has been wonderful with supporting Sexpression financially as well as in terms of being the link with the school. The correspondence with us is always extremly prompt and helpful and we really appreciate it.' Lauren, President of BSMS Sexpression"

Future Link Up projects

SMuTS organise a workshop about HIV AIDS awareness by performing scenes from the musical 'Rent' with local organisations.

The tennis team sets up some coaching sessions with local schools in Spring Term.

How does it work?

A member of the Project V team will work with your group to help you identify the skills that could be used in a community setting. We will then link your club/society with a community organisation in order to create a project that your members can volunteer in.

How much time will it take?

This really depends on the type of project you create. Some projects require a significant commitment and club/society members who are able to volunteer on a regular basis. Or you might decide to do a ‘one off event’, it’s up to you!

What training/support will we receive?

You will receive all relevant training and support from Project V staff and from your ‘link’ organisation.

How to get started

The first step is to choose a 'Community Rep' for your Club or Society. This person will be the lead contact for the project. The Community Rep should then get in contact with Michaela in Project V. Either drop into the Activities Centre or use the form below. We've put together a pack of essential information for Community Reps (Word document) to help you get started.

You don't need to have a fully-formed project idea to get started though it helps if you have thought about the type of project your society would like to develop or take part in, e.g. do you want to volunteer with children, older people, people with disabilities? You don't need to have all the details finely tuned, as Project V will help you with this. Our registration and project planner will help you start to plan your project.

We will discuss initial ideas and you will receive all the support you need to develop your project. Depending on the project you will receive all relevant training and ongoing support from Project V and your 'link' organisation.

Contact Us

Get in touch if you have any questions about Link Up