Volunteering at UWE

The UWE Community Volunteer Programme works together with the Students' Union to help UWE students and staff to give their time for free in order to help local voluntary organisations. Why? To gain new skills and experiences whilst helping local charities provide vital services to the public. CVP is run by Student Services.

Find out more about volunteering:


What can I do?

Get Volunteering...

just for a day

Why not give it a go with one of our Community Action Days?

for a volunteer involving organisation

There are hundreds of volunteer opportunities out there; hundreds of organisations providing services which depend on volunteers. Not all will be appropriate, available, interesting or feasible for you. But something will be.

Here are some of the roles our volunteers have had in the past:

  • Helping to maintain nature reserves
  • Mentoring people with autism
  • Supporting witnesses in court
  • Coaching sports teams
  • Creating community artworks
  • Dog-walking with the RSPCA
  • Providing I.T. support to local charities
  • and much more...

Find out more about current opportunities.

for a UWE Volunteering Project

We organise some voluntary projects that are tailored to fit around your timetable and your commitments. You would be volunteering alongside other UWE students, on or off campus.

Read more about our projects.

Be a leader!

If you would like to develop your skills in leadership, team work, effective communication and time management take the lead on a project.  Lead a project from start to finish and see it grow and develop.  Learn new skills at the same time and meet new people.  There is a whole range of projects and types of leadership roles and we can help you find the best one for you.

Find out more about leadership roles *coming soon*!

What can CVP do for me?

Help and support.

There are hundreds of opportunities out there. If you are looking for a voluntary role then we can help you to make the right choice.  If you are already volunteering then we can offer support to keep you going.  

Expenses.

You should never be out of pocket due to your volunteering. Many organisations will pay your travel expenses, meals while you are volunteering, and any special equipment or training that you might need. If they don’t then we will.  If you need to make an expenses claim email: cvp@uwe.ac.uk.

Training.

We offer in-house training courses which are free to UWE students. They cover issues and skills which will be useful in your role and beyond. We can also support you to do training outside of UWE which is related to your volunteering. 

Accreditation.

We provide certificates to recognise your volunteering.

How does the CVP work?

Join our mailing list.

Receive regular updates on what's going on in the Bristol area, latest opportunties, student led projects, campus campaigns, latest Community Action Days and training opportunities.

Find some volunteering.

Browse our website for details of a selection of volunteering opportunities. There is lots more available, so if you can't find what you want, get in touch: cvp@uwe.ac.uk. We can also give you help or advice on finding an opportunity to suit you.

Make contact.

Get in touch with an organisation that you’d like to volunteer with. Find out more about it and how to apply. They might have an application form or want to interview you, or meet up for a chat.

Turn up.

The rest is up to you, though we are here to offer ongoing support. And if an organisation can't provide your travelling expenses, then we can help!

Stay in touch.

We want to hear all about your experience of volunteering. We can help you to write about your volunteering on CVs and application forms, and help you to think about what you might want to do next. We'll also be able to give you a certificate for your efforts, but only if you tell us!

Myths about volunteering

Volunteering is something that only other people do.

No. Volunteering is about matching the right person to the right role, so whoever you are, whatever your skills, wherever you are going in life; there is something out there for you.

Volunteering is mostly about charity shops.

Not really. There’s much more to it than that. In addition to being a charity shop retail assistant, you could find yourself staffing a helpline for people with mental health issues, coaching a sports team, mentoring a person with autism or supporting witnesses in court.

You don’t have time to do any volunteer work now, but you will have later.

Wrong. We know you are busy people, but don’t wait until some mythical point in the future when you’ll be sorted enough to make your mark, do it now!

Volunteering isn’t something that’s only done by people with lots of time on their hands, people more organised than you, or people who don’t have social lives; it’s done by busy people like you. We're here to make it easy for you to get volunteering!