February Networking Event. Getting Students involved in volunteering University of Technology Sydney. 22 February, :00pm 4:00pm

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1 February Networking Event Getting Students involved in volunteering University of Technology Sydney 22 February, :00pm 4:00pm

2 Agenda Welcome and Introduction Presentation by Ruby Wawn Student Engagement Officer, UTS Shopfront Community Program Q&A and Wrap up Networking

3 Recruiting Student Volunteers Ruby Wawn Student Engagement Officer UTS Shopfront Community Program

4 4 My volunteer journey Red Shield Appeal, Surf Life Saving NSW, Peer Mentor and Tutor Amnesty International, Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS), Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Behind the Wire Part of the pilot SOULstar program a peer facilitation program where engaged SOUL students were trained to deliver the SOUL workshops And now I work at Shopfront as the student engagement officer where I help community organisations find student volunteers through the UTS SOUL Award and support student leaders at UTS

5 5 UTS Shopfront Community Program Based on the science shop model, Shopfront is a community engagement unit at UTS focusing on community engaged research Since 1996, Shopfront has facilitated more than 1,000 successful community coursework projects for more than 800 not-for-profit organisations We have overseen 90,000 hours of extra-curricular volunteer hours through our extra-curricular student volunteering and leadership program, the UTS SOUL Award

6 What is your experience recruiting student volunteers? 6

7 7 Getting Students Involved in Volunteering What motivates students to volunteer? Who are the SOUL students? Where are they volunteering? How do we recruit student volunteers? What works and what doesn t?

8 8 What motivates students to volunteer? It s not just about resume building! Multiple studies have demonstrated students are primarily motivated to volunteer by a desire to help others (see for example M.K Hyde and S.R Rowles (2013); Smith et al. (2010)) Students in competitive degrees (e.g. medicine) and those straight out of school are more likely to be motivated by enhancing their employability (Holdsworth 2010)

9 9 Factors restricting student volunteering Time constraints The need to find paid employment Work or study commitments Lack of awareness of the volunteering opportunities available and how to get involved (M.K. Hyde and S.R. Rowles 2013)

10 10 Key takeaways Students are more interested in flexible volunteering and short-term experiences that meet their immediate needs (Smith et al. 2010) If you want to retain student volunteers, be clear about your expectations (Paull et al. 2017) Students are time poor and expect their time when volunteering to be managed well and used effectively (Paull et al. 2017) Frame volunteering as the normal thing to do (Francis 2011) Emphasise the objectives of the organization and the outcome of the volunteering (Francis 2011)

11 11 What is the UTS SOUL Award? SOUL (Social Outcomes through University Leadership) is an extra-curricular student volunteering and leadership program run by UTS Shopfront Community Program. Students have the course of their study at UTS to complete 90 hours of volunteering and 4 workshops on communication skills, leadership, social issues and project management. When they complete the requirements of the program they receive a SOUL Award certificate and a SOUL comment on their secondary statement when they graduate from UTS.

12 12 Who are the SOUL students?

13 13 Who are the SOUL students?

14 14 Who are the SOUL students?

15 15 What issues are they interested in?

16 16 What type of volunteering do SOUL students engage in?

17 17 How do we recruit student volunteers through SOUL? Facebook posts Fortnightly newsletters Targeted s

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22 UTS SHOPFRONT COMMUNITY PORGRAM 22

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26 26 Student Stories Volunteering is not only an invaluable opportunity for self growth and meeting new people but also to engage in the wider community. Volunteering is a great way to develop soft skills that are required in your professional career in a support environment

27 27 Student Stories I have learned that the skills and knowledge I've acquired throughout my studies (even my major - Media Arts and Production) can be applied in the community sector and this is definitely a direction I want to explore in my career. I've also learned that volunteering comes in many forms - I used to think of it more stereotypically as experiences such as selling merchandise on Red Nose Day or door knocking for donations and things like that, but you can volunteer in SO many ways so there's something for everyone. It's possible to benefit from the volunteering as well, and learn new skills while making a difference, and find out more about your career path, and even build a professional portfolio if you're helping produce content for an organisation.

28 28 Student Stories Community engagement is a 2 way win-win. Gives us international students a sense of belonging and gives the community a sense of hope in us.

29 29 Student Stories I learned a lot from volunteering and learned a lot from my leader or my team member. Firstly, when I volunteered for Mardi Gras, I learned some small changes could have a significant impact. My role is collecting money and fundraising. People don t need to donate so much money just a few coins, and they had a great time during those days. But these amounts of money will help those LGBT who were in abuse, who want to have marriage equality. My volunteering job was simple but what I was doing with my team member can make a big impact to the whole community in the end. That s why I feel so good when I go for volunteering. Secondly, I love smiling, genuine smile. When I am volunteering the community like my own, I found the smiling is a universal language, which will warm everyone s heart The people I met who AIDS have, all of them are really wonderful persons in the sprint, what I can do is to motivate them not being defected by a disease that cannot be the cure, but can be controlled using medication. Furthermore, the whole journey of volunteering is the process of learning some experience from others. This is my last semester, after graduation from UTS, I will have to work to support my lives. But no matter how busy I will be, I believe volunteering is accumulating virtuous, and I will volunteer in future continuously.

30 30 Student stories Well; that s hard question. I m little bit of tired of volunteering.. to be honest no one care about volunteering in the real world.. no company cares about volunteering. What companies care is work experience. Not volunteering. Sorry to say that; my prospective have changed about volunteering.

31 31 How are you going to change your recruitment tactics for student volunteers?

32 32 Looking for volunteers? to submit a volunteer opportunity Or submit a coursework project for second semester online at

33 Q & A

34 You can become a member of The Centre for Volunteering!

35 Upcoming Events 21 March 10:00am 12:30pm Exclusive Onsite Tour and Presentation for Volunteer Managers- The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney 24 10:00 am - 12:00 pm The Neuroscience of Trust and Conversational Intelligence Conscious Presence The Neuroscience of Trust and Conversational Intelligence Naomi Abbott

36 The CfV - How do we help? The Centre for Volunteering has a range of resources and research links to help your volunteer program NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards

37 For more information visit Thank you