Make a Difference Days
Enrich your University experience by making a positive difference to others and develop an abundance of new skills through volunteering. Play an invaluable role through participating in rewarding one-off and short-term volunteering in the local community. There are also unique online opportunities, where you can make an impact nationally and globally.
Make a Difference Days are opportunities for students and staff to volunteer, help others and support causes that impact the local community. These one-off and short term activities don’t require ongoing commitment, giving you the opportunity to gain experience and support your personal development, wellbeing and sense of community.
The Sparks Art Festival Events Volunteers
18-25 May 2024
Would you like to volunteer in the community to help with the smooth running of events for families?
The Spark Festival is one of the biggest children’s arts festivals in the country. If you are passionate and enthusiastic about the arts or if you enjoy working with a wide range of people, The Spark Festival team would love to hear from you.
Spark Arts are offering two types of volunteering roles, which are Events Volunteer and Workshop Assistant Volunteer
Further information about what, where and when the activities are taking place can be viewed on the Sparks Arts website.
You can choose to volunteer for one day or more, if you can.
Spark Arts will be offering training and a volunteer briefing on Thursday 25 April 2024.
Sign up through the Spark Festival Registration Form before 25 April.
Please e-mail volunteer@thesparkarts.co.uk if you have any questions about their volunteering opportunities.
Articulating your Volunteering Webinar
Tuesday 4 June 2024, 11.00am via MS Teams
Whether you have previously volunteered or not or if you just want some help with how to make the most of your volunteering experiences, join this virtual session to:
- Hear about the amazing benefits and impact of volunteering
- Learn effective ways to articulate skills gained through volunteering experiences
- Become more confident in talking about your skills in applications and interviews
- Find out how to search for volunteering roles
Make your volunteering count and book your place through MyCareers
Student’s Union Activities Awards 2023/24
Nominations are now open to put yourself forward to be in with a chance to be recognised for the fantastic achievements and positive impact that you have been making in the University and wider community. If you would like to nominate yourself or another fantastic individual from the University of Leicester, choose the relevant category from the Leicester Student’s Union website.
For recognition of volunteering, please click on the ‘Volunteering and Fundraising’ category and choose the 'Frank May Cup for Volunteering' when you complete the nomination form. We strongly encourage anyone who has volunteered during this academic year to reflect on the impact you have made and submit a nomination. We would love to hear about the difference you have made by volunteering.
The deadline to make a nomination is Thu 18 April 2024.
Students Union Volunteering Hub
The University of Leicester Students Union also work with a range of voluntary organisations and charities who opportunities that you can sign up to now. You can also record your volunteering hours through the Students Union online portal called the Volunteering Hub.
Visit the Volunteering Hub to view the latest volunteering roles.
Virtual and micro-volunteering
Micro-volunteering enables you to offer your time in small chunks. You can manage how often you take part in micro-volunteering activities and can fit them flexibly around other commitments. Roles are mainly virtual and can be done using a lap top or phone. Examples of micro-volunteering and online roles include:
Warning Zone
Educational tour volunteers needed for Warning Zone.
As a life skills centre for children aged 10-11 years who visit them on a school trip, Warning Zone relies on the generosity of volunteers to guide small groups of children around their interactive life skills centre. They educate the children on how to keep themselves safe both online and offline, helping them to recognise hazards, assess risk, avoid consequences and navigate the many different aspects of growing up that they might face such as peer pressure and coercion. Their interactive safety centre has life-like zones covering areas such as fire safety in the home, building sites, water safety, arson, road safety, railways, alcohol, knife crime, grooming, cyber-bullying, posting photos online and so much more.
To sign up, please email volunteer@warningzone.org.uk or call +44 (0)116 262 9739.
CoachBright online volunteer
CoachBright are a social mobility charity that exists to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds become more independent and resilient so they can lead the lives they want. Volunteers work with pupils in schools to build confidence through academic coaching.
St John Ambulance
Volunteering with St John Ambulance is a fantastic way to enhance your CV, meet new people, and learn lifesaving skills. Most volunteering opportunities are community based and full training is given after you have been accepted to do your chosen role.
View the range of roles available and apply
Barclays Digital Champions
The Barclays Digital Champion programme provides a way to build and develop digital skills within organisations and communities, helping people get the most out of technology to thrive in the digital world.
You don’t need to be a digital expert to become a Digital Champion but you do need a passion for helping others. We’ll give you all the training, resources and support you need.
To become a Digital Champion you’ll join three 90 minute virtual sessions hosted by Barclays Digital Eagles where you’ll meet like-minded people who want to become Digital Champions too.
Age UK day care passenger assistant volunteer
To volunteer with Age UK, all you need is some spare time and a passion for helping others.
Patient and friendly volunteers are needed to provide support within an Age UK community day centre situated on Humberstone Gate in Leicester City Centre. The role will involve assisting the day care team in delivering optimum quality of care and support to their service users. This may include assisting the minibus driver when picking up and dropping off clients from 8.30am to 10.30am and/or 2.30pm to 4.30pm.
No previous experience is needed as full training will be given. You would need to have the physical ability to help move and support older people and have good team working and communication skills.
If you are interested in applying, please email volunteer@le.ac.uk for more information.
Age UK befriender befriending volunteer
Could you spare 20-30 minutes a week as a telephone befriender to make a couple of weekly phone calls to Age UK service users who may be experiencing isolation and loneliness to offer support and companionship?
You also have the option to do regular face-to-face befriending for 1 hour a week which could be at a day centre location or in the older person’s home.
If you are interested in applying, please email volunteer@le.ac.uk for more information.
Environmental volunteering with Leicester City Council
Leicester environmental volunteers fulfil a vital role in keeping our parks and open spaces, waterways and streets clean and well maintained so that we can all enjoy them.
Make a difference in a park near you and enjoy the benefits of the wide-open spaces, fresh air and physical exercise.
Roles include gardening and horticulture, conservation, environmental improvements, litter picking and more.
Short term opportunities
Hospital meet and greet volunteer
Meet and greet volunteers support patients and visitors in finding their way around hospital sites and are highly visible to patients and visitors within public areas of the hospital (Leicester General Hospital or Leicester Royal Infirmary). You need to be smart in appearance, friendly and approachable, with good communication skills to make a good first impression. The role involves:
- Giving directions or accompanying patients and visitors to their destination
- Transporting patients to and from outpatient appointments by wheelchair
- Giving general information about the hospital
- Collecting prescription requests (from clinics) for the hospital pharmacy
- Deliver e-greetings to wards
- Liaise with the Buggy Service
- Distribute posters, leaflets, booklets around the hospital
Learn more about the roles available.
Age UK volunteers and fundraisers
Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland is celebrating 70 years of support in 2022. They have a busy year of exciting events and activities planned, which you can support through fundraising and volunteering.
Action Tutoring
Volunteering as a tutor with Action Tutoring is an easy and rewarding way to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged young people living in your community. It’s your chance to give back, share your skills and boost your CV.
By volunteering for just one hour a week, you will directly support disadvantaged pupils to build their confidence and help ensure they leave school with the grades needed to build a bright future, as well as developing your own skills.
Park Run event volunteers, Victoria Park, Leicester
Park Runs are free, weekly, community events all around the world.
Volunteers make parkrun happen. They do all of the high-profile tasks at the event like marshalling, timing, result recording, setting up the running course and more, as well as all the behind-the-scenes roles too.
Whatever you want to do, there is a role for you. To volunteer during a Saturday morning Park Run, you would need to register by the Thursday before, so your name can be added to the volunteer rota in advance. Email leicestervictoria@parkrun.com to help.