Bristol’s students have stepped up and volunteered for numerous local volunteering projects this year. Despite the ongoing pandemic, students have shown their committment to supporting our local community through a range of projects.
This year 107 volunteering opportunities were advertised on the Bristol SU website, and 1149 student volunteers applied for roles!
Here are some of our highlights from this year:
- Make a Smile made 8 videos and/or zoom events to entertain children at the BRI Hospital. Students dress up as the children’s favourite heros or princesses and bring a smile to their day – many events use Makaton too!
- 180 Degrees Consulting Society has been supporting a range of local organisations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, 180 Degrees Consulting has provided 1000+ hours and £30,000 worth of pro-bono consulting advisory to 14 charities and social enterprises across the world, including local organisations Off the Record, Redcatch Community Farm, and St Peter’s Hospice. Founder, Jack Elliott, recently won a ‘Points of Light‘ award, presented by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. It was awarded for Jack’s work with the Covid Student Response Network (CSRN), organising a worldwide effort by student groups to help charities overcome the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Rasing and Giving ran their annual Christmas Shoebox Appeal in December. Students donated a total of 96 shoe boxes to Help Bristol’s Homeless. That’s around £1,200 worth of goods!
- Paws is a student-led volunteering project that is run by a group of veterinary students from the University of Bristol with the aim of helping those from disadvantaged backgrounds care for their pets. Over the Christmas period, Paws partnered with Caring at Christmas to produce these amazing pet bundles for peoples’ four-legged companions.
- Nightline has been operating throughout the year – offering a free confidential listening service to students in need of support.
- Phab have been running online workshops / events every fortnight, providing well needed, fun, activities for children with and without disabilities. Their events have include arts and crafts, games, and baking.
- Pitstop have been running online ‘trips’ for young carers. For example, Yoga, Gingerbread decoration, paint by numbers, quizzes, and a buddy system. They even partnered with Bristol Bears to run two of the sessions.
- Sexpression have recently run face to face workshops with 5 classes of school children around sex education.
- Black Dog Project have been delivering online workshops on mental health for children in schools.
You can read more about the great work of Bristol’s students this year in this Bristol 24/7 article highlighting all of the amazing work that’s been done in Bristol’s communities.