‘Volunteering Matters’ – a message from the Project Leader of Warwick Crafting Happiness

Why does volunteering matter? I believe that this question has been pondered upon by many – why should we serve our community? What’s so good about volunteering that attracts people to put in so much time and effort into it? Well, after being engaged in voluntary work for @warwickcraftinghappiness for 3 years in my university life, I have figured out why volunteering matters.

Volunteering, as the name suggested, is often an unpaid activity where someone devotes their time to make a positive impact to the community/ non-profit organisation. Though volunteering is often associated with a goal of benefiting others, to me, volunteering is NEVER merely just giving – it’s really not! The “returns” and benefits of volunteering are often intangible.

Throughout the three years volunteering journey with the Warwick Crafting Happiness team, we have donated various craftwork, including letters, bracelets, self-designed mugs, mini-canvas, origami, tote bags in support of the local community around Coventry and Warwickshire. For examples, in 2022, we have donated around 30 tote bags with food items inside to The LWS Night Shelter ( https://www.lwsnightshelter.org/) , a charitable organisation that is set up to provide additional nights of food and a safe place to sleep for the homeless in Leamington. In addition, we have been regularly engaged in sending letters to sick children by supporting the registered charity PostPals (https://www.postpals.co.uk/). It was simply a rewarding moment to me every time when I delivered the donated items to the charities and witnessed the bright smiles and the genuine “Thank You!” from the representatives. Every time my team supported a charity, I’d believe that we have created a ripple and positive effect in the community. Such positive responses from the recipients of the donations have always been a source of immense happiness, confidence and motivation in my life that is totally intangible. (The benefits of #Volunteering!) 

Another powerful thing about Volunteering is that it reminds me about how everybody can be great just because “everybody can serve”. We don’t have to have good grades to serve. We don’t have to be competent to serve. We don’t have to fulfil any requirements to serve. All we need for volunteering is simply a compassionate heart and an willingness to go for it. Regardless of one’s background, intelligence or status, from the perspective of volunteering, we are ALL EQUAL – we help others in a selfless way and that’s what makes us great, and that has nothing to do with our personal pursuits or achievements. We are ALL IN THIS volunteering TEAM together with a common goal of serving the community.

Let’s all learn to engage in volunteering work and together as one, stand for compassion, love and kindness. We feel good not because of our competence and capabilities, but because of the core values we stand for – “WE CAN ALL SERVE AND MAKE AN IMPACT”.

– An honest and sincere reflection by project leader Cheris So, Final Year LLB

Advertisement

Student Exec Role- Jasmine & Chavi as the Media & Communication Officers

Hi everyone! It’s the time of the year again; we are opening our recruitment for WV execs. Join us as our Media & Communication Officer now! As the name explains, you will be helping out the staff team to promote key Warwick Volunteers events. It will require you to produce promotional items (videos, posters etc), manage social media platforms and set up booth for events. Afraid not, you do not need to be an expert in multimedia- basic editing skills will do! This role is rewarding as you get to enhance your skills and meet many new people along the way. Creating and maintaining student relationships between Warwick Volunteers and media on campus such as Warwick RAW, WTV and Boar is one of the key roles. If you think you are someone creative and committed to Warwick Volunteers, stop hesitating and apply for this position now. You might be the one we are looking for! -Jasmine & Chavi

Be part of us to help shape the future of Warwick Volunteers!

Student Exec Role- Annija & Jane as the Project Leader Officers

As a Project Leader Support Officer you will have to work closely with all the Project Leaders. It is, therefore, important to develop a strong connection with the Leaders, leave an approachable and companionable impression and have a strong knowledge about all the projects Warwick Volunteers offer, as you are person that Project Leaders will be reaching out to if they have any problems or new ideas that need Exec support. Basically the main task for the Project Leader Support Officers is to plan Project Leader socials and meeting along the year, for example, a movie night, bowling, dinner etc. This year we have been organizing not only the exclusive Project Leader socials but also the events for Warwick Volunteers community as a whole, for example, social events happening during the newly introduced Warwick Volunteers week. Later on in Term 2 you will have to lead the interviews with the forthcoming candidates for the role and create handover resources for the new Exec. -Annija & Jane

Recruitment for the Exec position is now opened. Be part of us to help shape the future of Warwick Volunteers!

Student Exec Role- Matt Earl as the President

Being the President of Warwick Volunteers essentially means that I lead the student Executive Committee. This primarily involves setting our objectives for the year – such as supporting the introduction of Warwick Volunteers Week in term 1 – and monitoring their progress, as well as managing and co-ordinating the work of the Exec. This is mainly achieved through the organisation of Exec meetings, for which I set the agendas and act as the chair, in addition to using social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.

Alongside supervising the work of the Exec, I attend fortnightly Warwick Volunteers staff team meetings and Steering Committee meetings, which take place every quarter. At these meetings I update the staff on the Exec’s activities, acting as the primary communication link between the Exec and the Warwick Volunteers office. Finally, it is my duty to represent Warwick Volunteers internally and externally at meetings and events, such as the Celebration Event held at the end of term 2. -Matt

Recruitment for the Exec position is now opened. Be part of us for the opportunity to help shape the future of Warwick Volunteers!

Our highlights of the year (Part 3/3)

Third and last part of our blog series to celebrate Volunteers Week, a national celebration of all the volunteers in the UK. This week we’ve been sharing our highlights of a busy volunteering year. If you’ve missed them, go read Part One and Part Two.

Our highlights of the year (Part 2/3)

For Volunteers’ Week, we’ve started to look back at a busy 2016-17 volunteering year here at Warwick. This is the second part of our highlights of the year. Click here to find out what happened in Term1.

Our highlights of the year (Part 1/3)

This week is Volunteers’ Week, a national celebration of volunteers in the UK. We wouldn’t miss that opportunity to say once again THANK YOU to all the amazing student volunteers at Warwick and to those who helped make their volunteering possible!

To celebrate, let’s look back at 2016-17!

Project Spotlight: Leamington Night Shelter

I am a second year Undergraduate student studying English Literature at Warwick. I have always been really interested in volunteering, having previously volunteered in a charity shop and in primary schools. Along with volunteering through the English Department to teach literature at a school in Coventry, I was also really interested in helping out with the homeless in Leamington. Living in Leamington Spa currently, it is clear that help is needed, and looking through the Warwick Volunteers site I found out about the Leamington Night Shelter and was keen to know a lot more about the charity itself!

Project Spotlight: Bake It Up

This week’s Project Spotlight is on Bake It Up, which aims to improve the self-esteem of young people by allowing them to get creative in the kitchen and achieving something they can be proud of. Volunteers run two after school clubs, which enable participants to develop new skills, learn to work as a team and gain knowledge about various ingredients and foods.

Dogs Trust Kenilworth

Today is University Mental Health and Wellbeing Day, the perfect opportunity to introduce here on the blog one of our new one-off project, which proved very successful in improving students’ wellbeing: Dogs Trust Kenilworth. Jenny, who organises this project, is telling us more about one of their sessions.