To celebrate Student Volunteering Week this February, we’re shining a spotlight on the amazing contribution our student volunteers make to St Margaret’s.
Taking place from 13 – 18 February, Student Volunteering Week aims to celebrate incredible young people who generously give up their time to volunteer for charities, raise awareness about the benefits of volunteering as a student and encourage more young people to volunteer.
Student volunteering provides a great opportunity for students to make a positive impact on their communities, gain practical skills and experience, build connections, and have fun. Here at St Margaret’s, we encourage and welcome student involvement and value the significant contribution that students make to our work. We have a range of roles and opportunities for students to get involved with St Margaret’s both individually as part of a group, from helping selling merchandise or helping to serve refreshments at our event to sorting through donation in our shops and visiting patients on the ward.
It’s fantastic to see so many student volunteers choosing to volunteer at St Margaret’s. We are extremely proud of the achievements and impact that our student and younger volunteers are making to the hospice and hope to enable and support more students to get involved in community action.”Mel Merrill, Head of Volunteering
Volunteering is a wonderful thing to do. Whilst it helps others, students can also get so much from volunteering. We spoke to two student volunteers, Keira and Emily, who give up their time to help at our Chard Shop, about how volunteering has made a difference to them.
Keira, 14
“I love volunteering at the Chard shop, the team of staff and volunteers there is absolutely amazing. They made me feel so welcome when I first started and are always there to help me if I need any support.
“When I volunteer, I most enjoy working on the till and meeting customers. Everyone has a different story to tell, and I love getting to know our regular customers as well as welcoming in new customers to the shop. I’ve learnt some great skills here which I know I will take into the future with me. I hope to work in care or in retail in the future and that’s all because of coming to the shop.“
Emily, 16
“I used to be an incredibly nervous person with no confidence, but everyone was so welcoming from the start which made it easy.
“The team has been such a support and the Shop Manager, Tracey, has been so kind, helpful, friendly, and understanding. They’ve all helped me to grow in confidence and battle through my nerves which has been life changing for me. Initially, I couldn’t do a lot because of my illness but as I got better I started to do more at the shop which was super.”
Are you a student interested in our volunteering opportunities?
We'd love to hear from you!