Happy New Year!  We hope that you have enjoyed the Christmas Break and are looking forward to 2024. We know this month will be a busy month for a lot of you and we send good luck and positive vibes for those of you who will be sitting exams. For those students who will be leaving us at the end of the month, we would like to send you best wishes for your future career and thank for being part of our volunteering community.

In this Newsletter:

Volunteering Roadshows

Student Volunteering Week

Volunteering Awards 2024

Volun-tees PLUS Awards

Festive Fun with our Student Volunteers

Student Learning Conference 2024

Team Teesside STAR Awards

Book an appointment.

Volunteering Roadshows

We have 2 Volunteering Roadshows planned on campus on the following dates.

Wednesday 17 January - 12.00 – 2.00 pm - SLB Ground Floor

Wednesday 24 January – 11.30 – 1.30 pm – Themis West, 1st Floor Foyer

The Roadshows are an ideal opportunity for you to pop along and have a chat to Jayne and I regarding volunteering opportunities on campus and in the community and if you  are struggling to add your hours, or would like some help finding an ideal volunteering opportunity, we can help you with this.

Student Volunteering Week – Save the Date

Student Volunteering Week is an annual event that celebrates and promotes student volunteerism across the United Kingdom. This week-long campaign encourages students to engage in volunteer activities, make a positive impact on their communities, and develop valuable skills. Our Student Volunteering Week will place w/c 12 February 2024 – full programme of activities to follow.

Volunteering Awards 2024

We are in the process of planning our annual Volunteering Celebration Event, bringing together volunteers who have contributed to university and community projects.  It is extremely important that you check your account to ensure that you have recorded all of your volunteering hours and that these have been approved by your verifier.  If you are struggling to have your hours approved, please email volunteering@tees.ac.uk for assistance.  We will be in touch soon with further details so please make sure you are adding your volunteering hours as we would like as many of our volunteers as possible to gain the recognition from the university and achieve an award.

You can also get additional recognition through our Volun-tees Plus Awards – an opportunity to meet with a Careers Advisor to help recognise the employability skills gained through volunteering.  This requires an additional 10 hours to achieve the Bronze Plus, Silver Plus, Gold Plus and Platinum Plus award.   If you are interested in finding out more about the Plus Awards, please email volunteering@tees.ac.uk for further details with the subject header “PLUS AWARD”

Festive Fun with our Student Volunteers

Our Student Volunteers had a busy December with a number of Community and Do Good, Feel Good projects taking place – from stewarding at Nightfall Festival, building Santa’s Grotto, collecting food and toiletry donations for the Festive Food Drive, designing Christmas Cards for poorly children in James Cook Hospital and helping with The Christmas Dinner, Teesside, we had a great couple of weeks. Thanks to all students who volunteered and gave up their time for such worthy causes – it is greatly appreciated. Add article link here

Student Learning Conference 2024 – Call for Proposals

As a Student Volunteer, you are invited to present a project at the annual Student Learning Conference in March 2024.The conference will celebrate and explore the benefits of peer learning. The conference is a great place to share your incredible experiences of peer learning, giving you valuable experience of presenting your work at a professional conference and network with like-minded students. Submission date is Friday 9 February at 16:30 – any questions please email StudentLearningEvents@tees.ac.uk – to submit a proposal, please scan the following QR code

Team Teesside STAR Awards 2024

The Star Awards brings together the annual presentations for long service and academic achievement, with a series of special awards that recognise the outstanding contributions made by nominated staff from across the University. If there is someone who you feel deserves to be recognised this year, now is your chance to help make it happen. Has someone gone above and beyond? Has a team, School or department gone that extra mile? Has a lecturer inspired you? Or is there just someone who is always happy to help out? Students can submit nominations in the following categories:

Fantastic Feedback

Outstanding Student Support

Outstanding Teaching

If you would like to make a nomination in these categories, please visit https://www.tees.ac.uk/minisites/team_teesside/awards.cfm

All nominations must be received by 5.00pm on Friday 8 March 2024.

Book an appointment

You can book an appointment with Angela Wood to discuss any of your queries regarding volunteering. 

To do this simply go to: https://www.tees.ac.uk/depts/studentfutures/appointment.cfm

(Don’t forget to add your Volun-tees profile link to your CV/Job Applications and showcase your achievements to future employers!)

Best Wishes

Jayne and Ange