I volunteered for the Societies into Schools programme as a part of Leeds Student Radio (LSR) from November 2023 to March 2024.
The aim of Societies into Schools is to promote different societies and interests to younger students. A team of LSR volunteers visited Leeds City College to chat about student radio, give a presentation all about LSR and student radio, and offer the students a go at presenting an outside broadcast that we then played on the LSR Hometime show.
As a co-leader of the team, I had the extra responsibility of planning meetings, setting deadlines and managing the project, which included having more responsibilities such as creating the PowerPoint presentation and helping the other students.
Discovering new opportunities
This was one of my first times volunteering at university and it helped me realise how many more opportunities there are available to you outside of your course and societies.
Being able to offer help to non-university students and connect with them in a fun way was really great.
I had no idea what to expect from the experience, but found that volunteering is so broad and holds so many different aspects that you wouldn’t expect. Not only did it feel rewarding and amazing when I had the chance to interact with LSR in a different way than before, but being able to offer help to non-university students and connect with them in a fun way was really great.
And obviously, it feels great being able to help others, especially through fun and creative ways like this.
Developing new skills and confidence
Volunteering also helped develop my confidence in managing a team and overseeing decision making.
It was great being able to focus on a project that I knew was helping people, as well as helping develop my own skills, without it being connected to academic study. In that way, I think volunteering can help your wellbeing at university in terms of giving you something to focus on that you know is rewarding, without the stress of it being an academic piece of work connected to your degree.
The experience also made me so much closer with my fellow volunteers and co-members of LSR which I am so thankful for.
I think my favourite part of volunteering was getting to work on something with my friends and peers that was giving back to our community. It was great seeing all the volunteers put their all into the project and it showed how much we all cared about it.
Advice for future volunteers
To other students thinking of volunteering, this is your sign to go for it!
It may seem a little daunting at first, especially concerning being able to balance it with other commitments, but from my experience everyone is so understanding and you really don’t have to take on any more than you can manage.
We volunteer because we want to and you will gain and learn so much from it.
We all supported each other during different times, for example if one of us was super busy during one week and couldn’t commit to finishing their share of creating the presentation, then others would jump in and finish it for them.
Everyone is aware that people have other commitments – but we all know that we volunteer because we want to – and you will gain and learn so much from it.
More information about volunteering
Read more student profiles about volunteering
Find out more about volunteering opportunities as a student at Leeds
If you’re a not-for-profit organisation in Leeds that would benefit from student volunteers, email the Volunteering Team at volunteer@leeds.ac.uk