To celebrate the day King’s College London was founded, staff and students unite yearly on 25th March to volunteer via various activities to show commitment to service-mindedness and serve communities around King’s (wherever you may be around the world right now!). Service-minded action and volunteering is also a great opportunity to put your degree skills into practice and gain CV-enhancing work experience.
The value of volunteering
Let’s talk about the value of volunteering. Volunteering roles offer exciting, inclusive ways to take part in real-life projects and they can be a great way to act on your values, passions and interests too. It’s a way to connect with others virtually, and King’s offers lots of community-led volunteering projects that can offer you valuable ways to feel involved while doing some good.
Traditional buzz words for developing your work experience are usually internships, spring weeks, vacation schemes, placements… And indeed, these work experiences are great. But to those who unfortunately don’t gain a place, haven’t yet applied to any, or maybe don’t feel that these options are not the right ones for them – there are many ways to seek work experience and develop yourself, so don’t worry if you’re in this situation!
As well as helping you connect with others and foster belonging, volunteering can offer a meaningful way to apply your knowledge, attributes, skills and experiences in a real-life project. And there’s no doubt employers really value this! Volunteering experience can show many things: that you are actively seeking opportunities to learn about your sector or skills related to your career plans. It shows that you are keen to make connections and network to get the job done. And as many volunteering projects may allow you to be flexible and grow your role according to what you want to learn about, you could even show some project management or leadership skills. Now that’s a way to impress an employer at your next interview!
Where to find volunteering opportunities at KCL
If you’d like to take part in King’s Global day of Service, or you’d like to explore meaningful projects and develop your employability, here are many ways you can seek volunteering roles during your time at King’s (remotely/virtually).
Students can browse volunteering opportunities through the KCLSU Volunteering Record. On these pages, you can find a range of remote and in-person volunteering opportunities. King’s Service in Action pages is a fantastic place to watch too. They have general information on the GDoS as well as signposting to other volunteering activities around King’s. They list general volunteering roles across remote and on-site opportunities as well as Green and LGBTQ+ volunteering opportunities.
Here are a few of currently recruiting volunteer roles featured on King’s Service In Action pages:
- IntoUniversity – Various student roles
IntoUniversity provides local learning centres in disadvantaged communities where pupils are inspired to achieve. - Chance UK Mentor
Chance UK provides mentoring for children aged 5-13 with behavioural and emotional difficulties, to help create a brighter future. - Wellbeing Chat Service volunteer
One Westminster is running a Wellbeing Chat Service to support people in need in Westminster during the pandemic. - Ignite Hubs – Code Hub volunteers
The Code Hub teach coding to children and young people aged 7 to 18 years old.
Following student societies on social media is another great way to find projects to volunteer with. Take a look at an upcoming volunteer opportunity from King’s 4 Change:
Care about climate and social justice? Want to gain practical skills in leadership, creative campaigning and community organising and increase your confidence in a passionate team? We’re looking for 3 student volunteers ASAP to join the Fair Energy Campaign to work on community engagement, project management, and comms & marketing. To celebrate King’s Global Day of Service on March 25th 2021 we will be running outreach activities to empower communities to switch to energy suppliers that are greener, fairer and cheaper… but we need your help! Read the volunteering document and apply quickly before deadline of 8 March 2021! #kcl4change
We hope you’ve gotten some inspiration, motivation and direction to considering volunteering as yet another way that you can develop your employability during your time at King’s, from the comfort of your home. Interested to develop your employability further? Our KEATS pages have lots of information to help you build success and navigate your career planning with purpose.