University of Lincoln Students' Union Volunteering Spring/Summer 2014

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Students’ Union Spring/Summer 2014 Volunteering Magazine

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Volunteer Celebration

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Volunteer Celebration

& SU Awards

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Lincoln Marrow

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Student Case Studies

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Macmillan Cancer Care

12 Contact Us

A fantastic day celebrating an amazing year! This year’s volunteer celebration was in The Shed – the sun was shining, we had cupcakes and sweets galore, and special celebratory cocktails topped off the occasion.

Over 230 volunteers were able to join us and be awarded their certificates – it was great to see some of the Student Buddies, as well as some of the girls who had volunteered in India last summer along with so many students who had volunteered in a huge range of different community roles. Certificates were also awarded to some of the very many sports and societies committee members, student reps, SU Helpers and some staff volunteers.

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Volunteer Celebration (cont)

What a year….

University of Lincoln Students’ Union 2 Spring/Summer 2014 Volunteering Magazine

There was a great atmosphere – many students took a well-earned break from revision to call in and share in the celebration. It has been the best year ever for student volunteering – we have had around 1800 students volunteering either in the community or within the Students’ Union and University, and on average each volunteer has contributed around 90 hours of volunteer time. 540 of these students were in community roles and if you attributed a wage to these hours, the value to the local and national economy is staggering and leaves us in no doubt about the incredible contribution volunteers make.

This year has seen the introduction of Community Action Days – individual volunteering activities which have a direct and immediate impact on the local area and support the Students’ Union’s commitment to community engagement.

Lots of students and staff have come out in force this year to benefit the community in a variety of projects and we are so proud of everything that they have done.

We’ve also seen a number of students identify a community need resulting in the creation of their own student-led project – this takes time, passion and commitment and we’ve seen this in abundance. You can read about one such project, Lincoln Marrow, in the following pages.

So as this year draws to a close, we would like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has given their time to volunteer and help others.

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SU Awards

SU Awards - Thursday 8th May 2014

The 2014 SU Awards had all the glamour and celebration we could have wanted. Taking place in the Doubletree Hilton, the Awards celebrated the fantastic work done by staff, students and academics to influence and improve the student experience here in Lincoln.

Red carpet at the ready, shortlisted nominees, our winners in their midst, took to the floor. Every shortlisted nominee absolutely shone out as a considerable part of the student experience, but there could, as with all ceremonies, be only one winner.

In the Outstanding Contribution to Volunteering category the 3 shortlisted nominees were as follows:

Lorelei Jackson - Whilst completing her masters she is an active volunteer with Lincoln Marrow on campus, helping to register Marrow donors. She also works with children aged 7-16 through DevelopmentPlus and gives her time to Aegis Trust, travelling to London on a weekly basis to develop the campaign against the UK government. Lorelei is committed to making change and bettering the lives of others through volunteering.

Charlotte Wesson - Volunteers for the Samaritans and has been trained to interview candidates and works on the helpline, sometimes taking on the night shifts. She has also developed a baking class for mentally ill patients at the hospital and runs this independently and she volunteers on a day ward at the hospital.

Jammil Ahmed - He works to ensure that the Islamic Society is outward focused and he is the lead on outreach in the society. He strives to make sure that the society not only makes an impact to the University community but also to the local community.

And the winner was….Lorelei Jackson - We’d like to say a massive congratulations to her.

The John Jenkinson Award is presented to the individual who has made the best all round contribution to the Students’ Union and the student experience. It is seen as our top prize for volunteering at the Union and is chosen and presented by the former Governor of the University and Students’ Union Trustee, John Jenkinson.

And the winner of that award was….Jammil Ahmed - He and the Islamic Society have been featured in our newsletter previously due to the incredible work that they do and numerous hours they volunteer - a very worthy winner!

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Student Led Project


Who are Anthony Nolan?

Anthony Nolan is a pioneering charity that saves the lives of people with blood cancer. Every day, they use their register to match remarkable individuals willing to donate their bone marrow or blood stem cells to people who desperately need lifesaving transplants.

Only around half the people that need a transplant get one and this is why we, as Marrow, campaign to get more people on the register.

In the space of a Jeremy Kyle episode, three people find out they've got blood cancer. Pretty rubbish, right? That's what we thought. So we made Marrow.

What is Marrow?

Marrow is a student arm of Anthony Nolan, the awesome charity which saves the lives of those with diseases like leukaemia. Sometimes the only hope someone has of survival is having a bone marrow transplant. Anthony Nolan matches patients with volunteer donors from their register who have the same type of stem cells as them.

Why Marrow?

We started Lincoln Marrow because we wanted to increase awareness of how easy it is to join the bone marrow register and how simple the process of donating is. There are a lot of misconceptions about the process; people think it’s a really painful operation whereas more often than not, the donation is done through a procedure similar to giving blood. Marrow is amazing because we target the key demographic of 16-30 year olds and we find 1 in 100 people who are a match. 60% of the people signed up to the Anthony Nolan register were signed up through Marrow and being part of a project that helps to save people’s lives is incredible and such a good feeling.

What's the problem?

Anthony Nolan finds three matches a day (which is amazing) but for every person who gets a match, there's always someone who doesn't (which is less than amazing). To save as many lives as possible, we need as many healthy 16-30 year olds as possible on the register.

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Lincoln Marrow

Mel, Lincoln Marrow Volunteer Co-ordinator said ‘Marrow is the best thing I have done this year. Signing up people and potentially helping save someone’s life is incredible. I’ve made some amazing friends this year through Marrow and am ready to do it all over again next year’.

Who can sign up to the register?

If you’re aged between 16 and 30 and weigh more than 50kg, you could be the cure for blood cancer. We need more men to sign up. Male donors are far more likely to be chosen to donate by transplant centres as many doctors believe that they give patients the best possible outcomes, yet young men currently account for just 12% of the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register. We urgently need people from black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds to sign up, as they’re underrepresented on the register.

What have we done this year?

We have held four very successful clinics and have signed up over 200 lovely donors to the register, which is incredible. All you have to do to sign up to the register is fill in a form and spit in a tube, it’s pretty simple and then you’ve done something incredible.

Abi, who signed up to the register this year said, ‘I didn’t know anything about Anthony Nolan or Marrow before this year but when I found out how easy and simple it was to donate how could I refuse?’

Lucy, who jumped out of a plane to raise money for Anthony Nolan, said ‘It was the best experience of my life. I can’t explain the feeling of walking through clouds. It was so worth it and Anthony Nolan is such a worthwhile charity.’

We have also done lots of fundraising events because it costs £100 to recruit and look after a potential donor on the register. We have bag packed, dressed up as super heroes, run a 10k, jumped out of a plane and held movie nights to raise money this year. Our total for the year is over £2700, which is amazing.

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Georgena Jennings - Crimestoppers Trust

“Since January 2013, I have been enrolled as a volunteer and committee member for the Lincolnshire division of the national charity 'Crimestoppers'. On attending my first committee meeting I received a warm welcome and was requested to plan, organise, coordinate and implement initiatives which would raise awareness of Crimestoppers among university students and remind students of the simple precautions that can be taken to minimise the risk of domestic burglary. Since this meeting, I have been working from the comfort of my student accommodation to fulfil this request, with the support of Crimestoppers' volunteers and staff only a phone call or email away.

One of the first initiatives I planned and organised was for Crimestoppers representatives to attend the University of Lincoln's Freshers' Fair A stall was set up, and a range of Crimestoppers merchandise and information leaflets were handed out whilst talking to students and highlighting that Crimestoppers is an independent charity which allows the public to report crime 100% anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or completing the anonymous online form. We also took this opportunity to remind students about simple preventative measures that can be taken to minimise the risk of burglary in student accommodation. Due to the positive feedback of the Freshers' Fair, Lincolnshire Crimestoppers returned for the January Fair but this time partnered with Lincolnshire Trading Standards. The aim here was to not only raise further awareness about the purpose of Crimestoppers, but to also educate students about how to identify illegal alcohol and tobacco and the dangers of these counterfeit products.

Since burglary is an opportunistic crime, and student accommodation is a national target of domestic burglary, we further remind students of precautions that can be taken to reduce the risk of burglary. I worked with the University's residential services to produce and distribute stickers to landlords of student accommodation. These stickers were designed to be stuck to the back of the front and rear doors of student housing, providing simple reminders to lock doors and windows and remove valuables from sight before leaving the house. I even found myself writing a radio advert for Siren FM to air in the weeks leading up to Christmas, reminding students to secure their accommodation before returning home for the holidays.

I certainly haven't been short of tasks and opportunities volunteering for Crimestoppers. I have found myself writing press releases for events, recruiting volunteers and even giving a short speech at the Crimestoppers Midlands Regional conference.

Volunteering for Crimestoppers has been an extremely valuable and enjoyable experience. It has been fantastic to meet and work with a variety of different people. Not only have I gained a deeper insight into the charity and realised the importance of Crimestoppers in helping law enforcement agencies solve crime, but I have been able to develop and strengthen my employability skills of project management, communication and organisation.

Although my time at university is coming to an end, I hope to continue my volunteer work with Crimestoppers. With the amount of support and appreciation I have received from Crimestoppers for my work, I would strongly encourage anyone who has an interest in crime to volunteer for Lincolnshire Crimestoppers .”

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Tabitha Buckley - On Target “When I decided I wanted to volunteer in the community, I wasn't really sure where to start. After a quick visit to the SU, I settled on a programme called On Target. On Target is an outreach programme for disadvantaged children in Lincoln. The centre helps with a number of issues; the main focus is to help these children to develop key numeracy, literacy and science skills in order to bring them up to speed with the rest of their class. However, another focus is to give children new experiences that help to improve social interaction, team-working and self-confidence. I help out at On Target every Monday for half the day and my role at the centre is to assist in the organisation of the activities, help to create a calm learning environment by keeping the children calm and cooperative and to assist with taking children to and from their primary schools. The activities range from cooking lessons, counting challenges and fun team work games such as cup stacking, which is pretty hard to explain but incredibly fun. On Target is located within Lincoln City football ground so the stadium space is often used by the centre in activities, and this aspect of the centre in itself provides a unique experience for the children.

The reason I got involved with OnTarget, was firstly because I aim to teach after I graduate and the more involved I have become with the programme the more rewarding I found it. Especially seeing children develop under the programme. I feel I have gained a great deal from volunteering at On Target, particularly a confidence in working with a wide range of different children. It has also been helpful to work alongside teaching professionals outside the classroom, as by observing the way they control and teach I feel I have been introduced into teaching at a difficult end of the spectrum, which seems like the best place to start .”

Ioanna Oikonomou

Hartsholme Makeover

Community Action Day

“I really enjoyed the experience. It was

fun getting involved in painting at

Hartsholme centre and meeting new

people! We had a really great time! I

would definitely advise people to start

getting involved with such activities!”


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JUMP Project

Joint Universities Mentoring Programme


The Joint Universities Mentoring Program (JUMP) project supports both primary and secondary school aged children who are in foster care for a variety of reasons.

The aim is to increase educational achievement by motivating young people to think about their future, feel good about themselves, and engage with role models who make the possibility of going on to higher education seem achievable.

“I absolutely loved it! I was sad to have to come

home. I would definitely recommend this project to anyone and I can't wait to

do it again!”

Kia

“I found the experience very rewarding and I learnt a lot from it. It was a lot of

fun!”

Helen

“..an intense but very memorable and enjoyable

experience!”

Emily

JUMP - Rosemary Robinson

“I was really excited about the JUMP weekend as during the interview and training session the leaders made it sound worthwhile, fun and challenging. The whole weekend flew by and in such a short amount of time, I learnt so much – you’re never left to pause and so are constantly tested, but this means you’re always a part of the action.

The kids were welcoming and chatty, full of stories and raring to go for most things, and that made the weekend seem a lot easier.

The building we were in was beautiful; it was old but had been made to feel welcoming with the walls covered in other kid’s artwork and poems, and though we’d been warned it would be quite cold, we found ourselves quite toasty most of the time.

The mentors were made to feel like big kids, joining in with the activities but keeping an eye out for any drama; some of us kept saying it’s like being at your grandma’s house surrounded by little cousins who you can mess about with but have to keep under control.

I wouldn’t have changed the weekend for the world – coming back to my flatmates was odd because you lose the position of authority, and tell tonnes of stories whilst hearing that everyone else sat around watching TV all weekend. After hearing all my stories, my flatmates were absolutely convinced they’d want to take part in the next scheme, and I’d encourage them; it was unrivalled to anything I’d previously experienced and made me feel I was doing something important and rewarding.”

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JUMP (cont) and Case Study


International Citizen Service - Stephanie Schafrath

The International Citizen Service Programme (ICS) made my summer unforgettable, pushed me to my limits, made me experience and understand a different culture in great depth and broadened my horizons more than I ever thought possible. And if that’s not enough, I also acquired great employment skills on the way.

ICS allows young people aged 18-25 to contribute to long-term development projects in some of the poorest countries of the world. The scheme offers young people the chance to develop personally and learn about team working and leadership on projects that are of genuine value to communities around the world. On return to the UK, ICS volunteers undertake an ‘Action at Home Project’, ensuring that their new skills also benefit their local communities.

The project I was working on was run by the development charity Progression and aims to improve the life of people through developing sustainable farming methods, raising awareness and providing support about HIV and AIDS in Malawi. I was abroad for 10 weeks, working and living with a group of 7 UK volunteers and 7 local volunteers, fully integrated in the community and away from any home comforts. Even though the main focus was the development work, we also made the most of our free time. I have made amazing friends and created many special memories that will stay with me for a lifetime.

JUMP Co-ordinator, Corrie Melvin, feedback

Rachel has been a volunteer mentor for JUMP working with children and young people who are in local authority care.

Rachel has proven herself to be an excellent volunteer. She has the ability to remain calm in the middle of a storm and her quiet manner has had a calming effect on this challenging group. The young people respond positively to her kind and gentle manner. She is able to get the best from the young people she supports with gentle persuasion and the use of positive language.

Rachel is a most willing and able volunteer. She has a great sense of humour and quickly built supportive relationships with the young people. She developed excellent relationships with her peers, the staff and most importantly the young people. Rachel is able to work as a team and also with small groups and individuals. She has supported the young people and encouraged them to achieve their potential. She is full of enthusiasm and has great communication skills.

Rachel has supported a group of young people to achieve their Duke of Edinburgh’s award. She has been a valuable member of the support team for these young people.

In addition Rachel also volunteered for weekend residentials for young people with autism. Rachel has risen to the challenge of working with young people with complex and challenging behaviours. She is a lovely young lady and was a pleasure to have as a volunteer on the projects.

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Macmillan


In November 2013, the University of Lincoln and Macmillan Cancer Support announced a new collaboration, which will see us working together in an effort to improve care and support offered to cancer survivors in Lincolnshire and elsewhere in the UK. There are very few people today who haven’t been affected directly, or know someone who has been affected by cancer – so to have this collaboration with Macmillan is hugely significant for us.

New accredited education and training courses for healthcare professionals will be developed and there will also be research collaborations involving both organisations, exploring issues such as the social care needs of cancer survivors and the links between cancer and public health inequalities.

For us, the most exciting thing is that numerous volunteering opportunities have been created for students and staff to be involved in. We are only the second University to have such a formal relationship and over the years we expect the number of volunteer opportunities to grow and grow giving hundreds of students and staff the chance to get involved. Some of these will give direct experience to students going into the health and social care fields, but others will appeal to anyone who is passionate about the fight to increase and improve cancer survivorship.

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Collaboration with the University

A launch day took place in March where we recruited an initial group of over 30 volunteers who will be involved in roles including Emotional Support, Information & Support Centres, Fundraising and helping on their big Green Bus, affectionately known as Betty!

So we’ll keep you updated on

developments as they happen

and if you’d like to know more

about how you can get involved

just come along to the volunteer

office, email us or check the

opportunities on our website.

We are so excited about the opportunities that our collaboration with Macmillan will bring.

We already have several volunteer roles, both long-term and one-offs that are open to staff and students, as well as events over the summer that anyone can get involved in.

Macmillan are currently recruiting volunteers for the following roles:

Practical & Emotional Support

Information & Support

Fundraising

Collection

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Drop-in Times

Monday 1pm - 4pm Tuesday 10am - 1pm Wednesday 1pm - 4pm Thursday 1pm - 4pm Friday 10am - 1pm

Please check our website for amendments to these times.

Contact Us

University of Lincoln Students’ Union

Brayford Pool Lincoln

LN6 7TS

(01522) 886420 or 886922

[email protected]

www.lincolnsu.com/volunteer

ULSU Volunteering

ULSU_Volunteer

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University of Lincoln Students' Union Volunteering Spring/Summer 2014