Roxcika’s Volunteering Blog

Why volunteering matters for your experience, skills and employability!

My name is Roxcika, and as a student, I have been involved in many social action projects myself. Today I want to share some of my experiences with you!

One is being part of Kingston Hub — it has been one of my best experiences so far! In this blog post I will tell you about my volunteering journey with Kingston Hub (a non-for-profit organisation). Kingston Hub is a student led community supported by the staff providing the students with multiple opportunities and to engage with the community. We have been tackling issues in the local community as a part of our Student Leadership Team.’

Volunteering can provide you with many skills that you may think that you won’t be able to gain from any other type of experience such as organisation & planning, presentation, listening, communication and many more. In addition, one of the benefits of volunteering is the opportunity to identify something you want to learn, and with the help of the volunteering team, you can find opportunities to practice and gain it. There are many ways to volunteer; such as community gardening, car washing, shopping for the isolating or elderly, walking neighbours’ dogs, litter picking, designing posters for charity and the list goes on.

Personal experience of Volunteering

Being involved in Kingston Hub has allowed me to come out of my comfort zone, try new things, gain confidence in my ability to communicate my thoughts and ideas and meet other like-minded students. One of the projects I have worked on, Link Youth focuses on young people who may feel isolated, especially during the pandemic. This programme helped me practice my creative and communication skills while designing and delivering presentations.

Part of the Kingston Hub we had weekly committee meetings which allowed me to get to know other student leaders, we had regular meetings where we would catch up on project progress and build friendships. From there we would talk about the upcoming events that we should all consider, which provided everyone with a space and opportunity to share their thoughts. Every idea was considered, the staff were available to help us present these clearly and turn them into actions.

Other skills I have gained from this volunteering opportunity are through working in the social media team; as a Business Management student I have studied marketing and I always loved the creative aspects of it, such as creating informative posters to bring awareness to the audience This has not just been fun but I consider that as valuable experience to carry with me when I get job as a graduate.

Some people may wonder why we should volunteer for people that we don’t know? Or why should we work for free? In my opinion, if I have some free time and I don’t mind doing something that I like to do I don’t really look out for the reward, I get on with it. I consider the skills and experience that I would get from it. For example, volunteering to run someone’s social media account in my free time is something I’d love to do to help a small business. This can make me stand out on applications and interviews because it shows that I have volunteered and that I am using my marketing skills by being creative to run a social media account.

Volunteering leads to a trustworthy relationship and you as a volunteer would gain a lot of experience. There are lots of charity-organised roles that offer many volunteering opportunities, and everyone will find something that you would enjoy doing.

I would love to hear about your experiences in volunteering, it can be something big or small? And if you haven’t done any volunteering before, will you be doing some now? Come to Kingston Hub’s website to find out more about volunteering opportunities available to you or you can go to the University Careers page to explore how you can apply your volunteering experience professionally here! After taking part, why not tag us on social media, or email us at hello@kingstonhub.org and tell us about your volunteering.

Thanks for reading,
Roxcika.