Image description: A young woman smiles and looks to her right, towards a stall. On the top right are the words ‘UWA Volunteering Fest / Monday 10th August 1 – 3 / Oak Lawn’. On the bottom right are the words ‘National Student Volunteer Week, 10 – 16 Aug’.
By Courtney Withers
#NSVW20
We’re back on campus, and this means we’ve got yet another exciting event coming up – National Student Volunteer Week 2020!
A lot of us can feel swamped by the pressures of university life, and everything else we’ve got going on. But one of the most important things we can do on campus, and in life in general at the moment, is recognise the importance of giving back to those in need.
National Student Volunteer Week 2020 (#NSVW20) runs from the 10th to the 16th of August (Week Three), and this year’s theme is ‘Collective Impact: Give.Grow.Connect’.
The presence of #NSVW20 on campus is overseen by this year’s Student Organising Committee, facilitated by Chair of Volunteering & Community Engagement, Jenny Chang. The committee hopes to highlight the compassion, personal development, and connections that students form through volunteering, and believes that volunteering is not only invaluable to the student experience here at UWA, but for personal growth.
The NSVW Festival will be celebrated at UWA on Monday the 10th of August, between 1pm and 3pm, on Oak Lawn. There you’ll find various stalls, activities, and networking opportunities. Students can also find the perfect volunteering opportunity suited to them, through a personalised referral from the Guild Volunteering ambassadors.
Festival Features: What You’ll Find
Micro Volunteering will feature a special fifth birthday stall, with the opportunity for UWA students to help the team with the following things:
- Pack safe sex packs for the WA AIDS Council.
- Make dog treats for Dogs Refuge Home WA Inc.
- Make gorgeous gifts for seniors in Bethanie Aged Care
- Craft for Relay for Life UWA.
There will also be a number of Social Impact Stalls, which will feature the diverse social impact that UWA clubs are contributing towards. These clubs include the likes of UWA Guild Volunteering, Oaktree UWA, and Students for Refugees WA. There’s even a Puppy Playdate tent, where students can meet some furry friends from the Best Friends Animal Rescue Inc.!
You can easily get involved with these clubs by finding out about their upcoming events, and visiting them at the Festival.
The opportunities for actual volunteering excursions during the #NSVW20 week are all available on CareerHub. But be quick – these tend to book out fast!
Some of opportunities include:
- Microplastic Survey at Matilda Bay Foreshore.
- Lovin’ from the Oven at Ronald McDonald House.
- Friends of Mosman Park NSVW S
- Inter-University beach excursion — fivr unis, fifty students at Leighton Beach, hosted by Perth NRM.
Time to Upskill: Professionalism Workshop Special
Students also have the opportunity to attend a Professionalism Workshop, which is hosted by 12 Buckets Marketing Director Sarah McLeod, and brought to you by the Guild Volunteering ‘Social Media For Good’ Team, in collaboration with the Careers Centre.
The workshop will cover all things employability, professionalism, personal branding, and adapting to both online and offline interactions. This special student-curated #NSVW20 event will take place in the Wilsmore Lecture Theatre between 1pm and 2pm, on the 12th of August.
Registration for the workshop is essential, and certainly not one to miss!
Guild Volunteering is super excited to host their first-ever NSVW Festival next week, and I think this event is a great way to recognise and acknowledge the tireless work of UWA’s incredible volunteers.
Words with Jenny Chang
I sat down with Chair of Volunteering & Community Engagement Jenny Chang to discuss #NSVW20 week, and why all UWA students should get involved.
Courtney Withers: Why do you think volunteering is important, and how does it benefit students?
Jenny Chang: I like to think of volunteering as not only a fun way to give back during our time at university, but also a huge opportunity for personal development of career-ready soft skills – a way to turn your compassion into action, and learn more about the world and grassroots movements around you.
Volunteering also benefits students through transcript recognition, and as a lovely way to meet new people, and network with non-profit organisations right here in Perth.
CW: How can people be more involved in volunteering at UWA?
JC: All of Guild Volunteering’s current opportunities and excursions are advertised on CareerHub and our Facebook page – they book out super quickly, so I’d recommend dropping into the Guild Volunteering Office for a one-on-one referral to find your perfect volunteer opportunity that matches your interests, studies, and time commitment.
CW: What drew you towards being involved with volunteering?
JC: Personally, I loved the novelty of being able to closely work with non-profit organisations in Perth, and find out more about their cause and amazing work that they do. Having volunteered with the likes of Students for Refugees UWA, Telethon Kids Community Cinemas, and more, I loved hearing directly from program coordinators about what drives them to give so much to the world, in the hopes of a fairer society for everybody.
CW: What do you hope students will get out of Volunteer Week this year?
JC: This National Student Volunteer Week is set to be our most ambitious and wholesome event yet! Commencing with our Festival of Volunteering and Microvolunteering Hopping special, complemented with excursions all throughout the week, and a Professionalism in Volunteering Careers workshop.
We hope students feel appreciated for their efforts in volunteering, engage in opportunities to meet other volunteers, and leverage their experiences to make their mark on this world.
If that wasn’t enough to convince you to be involved, then I don’t know what is! For more information about UWA Guild Volunteering and #NSVW20 week, head to their Facebook page.
Courtney will only be contactable via the Puppy Playdate tent on Monday, as that’s how she plans to spend her time.
Picture courtesy of UWA Guild Volunteering