Volunteering | Newcastle University
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Newcastle University
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Gain skills and experience
Volunteering
On this page
Benefits
Volunteering to give your time, energy and experience helps others and there are also many benefits for you.
As a volunteer you can gain:
valuable employability skills
practical work experience
a network of contacts
potential employment opportunities
the chance to try something new
Voluntary work can be flexible to fit around your commitments. You can choose to volunteer alongside your course, as part of your study, during vacation periods or in a
gap year
It's also worth bearing in mind that
some careers are difficult to get into
without previous volunteer experience
, for example working in development or the environment.
If you are giving up your free time and wanting to give your best, it is wise to
do something you are passionate about
Further information
Save the Student has a
volunteering guide for beginners
, which highlights the benefits of volunteering and gives examples of the types of opportunity available.
Prospects offers advice on
volunteering
, including how to find volunteering opportunities in both the UK and overseas.
Finding opportunities
We've listed below a range of websites to help you find volunteering opportunities in the North East, the UK and overseas.
Newcastle University students and registered
eligible graduates
can also search for voluntary opportunities on
MyCareer
, under Vacancies.
Volunteering in the North East
Go Volunteer
Go Volunteer
is part of Newcastle University Students' Union (NUSU) and aims to help Newcastle University students find volunteering opportunities.
As well as projects within NUSU and student-led projects, they also have links to over 200 charities and not-for-profit organisations within the local community. They offer one-off as well as regular, long term opportunities, and can even help you start up your own project.
For further information and to get involved, visit
Go Volunteer
Additional opportunities available in the North East:
Career Development Module
- gain academic credit while developing skills through volunteering
Volunteer Centre Newcastle
register online
for access to opportunities in Newcastle
Volunteering in the UK
The following websites have opportunities for volunteering in the UK:
Do-it
Volunteering Matters
Timebanking UK
Vinspired
Association of Charity Shops: volunteer in a charity shop
Royal Voluntary Service
ProjectScotland
Volunteering Wales
Volunteer Now
- volunteering in Northern Ireland
gov.uk - find volunteer placements
- sources of voluntary opportunities
National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
has news and information about voluntary organisations.
Volunteering overseas
These are examples of some of the organisations that provide volunteering opportunities outside the UK:
WorkingAbroad
AIESEC
: Global Volunteer - student-led organisation
InterVol
European Youth Portal
- accredited volunteering organisations
Madventurer
- non-profit volunteering opportunities in Africa, Asia and South America
POD
- non-profit organisation offering one week to six month volunteer projects around the world
Concordia
- non-profit organisation offering volunteer projects in over 60 countries
Volunteer World
- organisation offering a range of worldwide volunteering opportunities
For more information on organisations offering international voluntary work, see
Taking time out
and the
Development
section in Explore Occupations.
Virtual volunteering
Working from home as a volunteer can be a good option if you want experience which is flexible around your study commitments.
Virtual volunteering allows you to contribute your spare time to a good cause, while building up experience and skills in a variety of areas. The work can usually be completed remotely, from home so it's a very flexible way to gain work experience. Virtual volunteering can include:
writing
editing
translation
research
IT
training
The following websites provide further information and opportunities:
Alive - be a virtual volunteer
United Nations Volunteering Online –voluntary projects for charities
Vinspired - select 'Home-based' in the search
SAGA - nine great ways to volunteer online
Funding a voluntary project
Find opportunities and information on funding voluntary projects.
You can apply for up to £500 to fund a student-led project through the
Make it Happen Fund
Newcastle University Student Wellbeing Service has a section on
expeditions
with information about
funding
and
previous expeditions
for inspiration.
The Gov.uk website has information on
applying for funding for community projects
, including links to local government contacts.
More help
Get help from the Careers Service and find information about employment rights as a volunteer.
Advice from the Careers Service
For further help and advice about volunteering, book an online information appointment or submit a query via
MyCareer
Employment rights
Visit gov.uk for information about
employment rights as a volunteer
NUSU Go Volunteer
MyCareer