Volunteering

The University of York encourages students and staff to get involved in their local community through volunteering. The Community and Volunteering Unit (CAVU) co-ordinates and supports the various volunteer programmes at the University and matches volunteers to needs in existing projects and supports staff and students who have new ideas that can benefit local communities. At York, over a thousand students a year volunteer in the community - one in ten of the student population.

The York Award

All undergraduates within the University have the option to join the York Award, aimed at providing further learning opportunities whilst at university, and to assist the transition into later employment. It is a structured programme for skills and personal development offering specially developed courses in communication skills, career management and other areas. It also embraces the 'Languages for All' and 'ILIAD' computing courses mentioned previously (though these can be taken separately). The award also recognises skills acquired within the academic curriculum and paid and voluntary work experience, as well as other evidence of personal development. The York Award is being run with the co-operation of major employers such as Shell, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and HSBC. View further details.

v awards

The national  v awards are designed to give you recognition for your volunteering achievements.v is the youth volunteering charity, whose mission is to inspire a new generation of volunteers aged 16 to 25. v is building on the legacy of Millennium Volunteers which came to an end in March 2008 and is run through the Community and Volunteering Unit.

v awards will be presented at an annual city-wide awards ceremony. You can receive:

  • Thank you certificate - for volunteers who have got going on their volunteering
  • vfifty Award - for volunteers who have banked 50 hours of volunteering
  • vImpact Award - for volunteers who have banked 100 hours and provided evidence of community impact

Each term you will have a 2 week window to bank your hours with v and review your volunteering experience with the CAVU team. These windows will occur in the second half of term.

York Students in Schools programme

The York Students in Schools programme (YSIS) places some 600 students a year in local schools working alongside fully qualified teachers in a variety of activities. Students also have the opportunity to become mentors for York pupils as part of the City of York Mentoring Programme. YSIS received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Award for service to the community in 2003.

You can find out more from the YSIS programme website.