‘any activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individuals or groups) other than, or in addition to, close relatives’ – Volunteering England (2013).
Not sure whether the opportunity is considered volunteering. To make life easier follow the flow diagram below to help figure it out!
We do not consider it volunteering if the placement is a requirement of your course, or if it is for a for-profit organisation as this is considered an unpaid internship. Please also be aware that any down-time you have whilst volunteering, such as time spent sleeping, cannot be used on the V-Record (especially relevant to volunteering like Scout/Guide camps or residential trips)
Course requirements can include work placement (such as in a school, hospital or sports club) or work experience that you must complete that is part of a module or in order to get onto a course.
Any work you do extra to this can be counted. For example, helping at an after school club because you must complete a piece of work for a beyond the classroom module is not classed as volunteering, but if you carried on helping at the club after completing the requirements for the module, these hours can be counted towards a V-Record.
A For-Profit organisation is defined as one whose primary aim is to make money. If you are working for a for-profit business, then this would be classed as an unpaid internship and the hours can not be claimed as volunteering.
All charities have a registered charity number which is six or seven digits long (found on their website). Search here using the name of the organisation or charity number to check that it is a legitimate charity.
Worcester Students' Union is a registered charity, and therefore any volunteer hours you complete for us can be counted towards a V-Record. Examples can include SU Crew and commitees of clubs/societies
The Third Sector is a term that describes a non-profit organisation (all profits are re-invested into the organisation) which provides social or environmental benefits.
Everything you do as part of these roles counts as volunteering, so you are probably doing a lot more volunteering then you realise!
- Sports and Society Committee Members
- Course Reps
- Student Trustee
- SU Crew
Contact Us
Obviously, not all examples of volunteering fit into this model. If you are still not sure whether your placement can be counted towards your V-Record, please get in touch below
Employability
Through volunteering, you will gain a wide range of transferable skills that will help you in your future career.
Take a look at our Employability Guide for all the information you need on how to show employers everything you've learned during your time at university.