VOLUNTEERING HANDBOOK

Transcription

1 FEEDBACK GET INVOLVED CELEBRATING SUCCESS UCLAN STUDENTS UNION VOLUNTEERING HANDBOOK 2014/2015 STAND UP STAND OUT

2 Thank you for volunteering at UCLan Students Union. Whether you ve decided to volunteer to make a difference, develop skills, make new friends or for any other reason we want to make sure that you get the best experience out of your time volunteering. We have all been volunteers ourselves before we became elected Student Affairs Committee members across different areas including sports, societies, representation roles, media, campaigns and so much more. We have all learnt new and transferable skills, made so many friendships and hope you do too from your experiences. With over 2000 volunteering roles on offer we hope there is something that interests you and if you want something different we will help you find it. This handbook outlines all the key information for volunteers about how we can support and develop you, what you can expect from your Students Union and how we celebrate each other s successes. You make a real difference, a massive thank you from all of us. Matt, Lee, Josie, Stevie, Lucy Interested in finding out more information about volunteering? You can find out more about volunteering in the Opportunities Centre: Open 9am 9pm (out of term time close at 5pm) Monday Friday suopportunities@uclan.ac.uk

3 There are so many ways you can get involved in the Students Union. There are 60+ societies and 30+ sports clubs to join, media opportunities in our Pluto newspaper, PSTV TV channel and Frequency, our radio station. You could become a Course Rep to represent your course and the people on it, or be part of Green Ladder projects like the Secret Garden. With so many different things to choose from it s easy to get involved. I joined the Equestrian Club as a fresher to get back into Horse Riding, my old hobby, and meet new people. I don t perform to a high level or compete, and I didn t purposely get into volunteering but caring about my club got me involved in the organisation of it which is volunteering. It has helped me to become more confident which led to my election as APO and along with organisational skills, will push me and lots of other volunteers into gaining employment. Josie Linsel Activities and Participation Officer I joined the Equestrian Club as a fresher to get back into Horse Riding, my old hobby, & meet new people.

4 Volunteers achieve a great deal be it making a positive change through their course as a Course Rep, running an activity group or giving something back to the local community. No one does it for the recognition but it is important that success is recognised and that everyone who works so hard is thanked for their hard work. Societies Ball Union Awards The Union Awards is an annual celebration event held to recognise volunteers from across the Union with awards presented by the Student Affairs Committee and Vice Chancellor. The awards recognise outstanding volunteers and the work of groups throughout the year. A number of awards are presented across all volunteering areas to individuals and groups as well as individual awards for those who have completed the Livesey Award. Entering its second year, the Societies Ball is a result of feedback from Society members that they wanted their own end of year event. Organised by Society volunteers with the support of the Union this event commemorates all the great work over seventy societies have done throughout the year. Sports Ball Sports Ball is an annual black-tie event held in April which is an end of season celebration for all members of sports clubs at UCLan. It is focused around the awards presented which recognise the volunteering efforts of club members, and the performance of teams along with a Sports Personality award. Something else we could be doing? SuOpportunties@uclan.ac.uk with your ideas The Union Awards is an annual celebration event held to recognise volunteers from across the Union with awards presented by the Student Affairs Committee and Vice Chancellor.

5 Livesey Award The Livesey Award has been developed by UCLan Students Union to recognise the contributions of all our volunteers. The award leads to a free certificate accredited by UCLan Students Union and Blue Edge Training which is an Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) Centre. It is a thank you for the work, time and effort you put into volunteering with us, and will help you understand the importance of the impact your efforts have on the Students Union, the people and communities you work with, and most importantly, to help you reflect upon the skills learnt through your experiences while volunteering. There are three levels of the Livesey Award based on the hours completed. They are Bronze (30 hours), Silver (60 hours) and Gold (90 hours). For each award you ll meet with a member of the Union staff and for the Gold Award you ll be required to complete an essay or attend a meeting mapping out the skills you ve learnt. All of the Union volunteering opportunities within this guide as well as attending Stand Up, Stand Out sessions can be included in the hours towards your Livesey Hours. You can sign up to the Livsey Award at: It is a thank you for the work, time and effort you put into volunteering with us, and will help you understand the importance of the impact your efforts have on the Students Union.

6 Stand Up, Stand Out is your chance to take part in sessions that will develop your skills and enhance your CV. Sessions are held throughout the year on a number of topics including Leadership, Public speaking and Campaigning. We are also going to hold one-off event sessions with guest speakers. You can find the latest sessions here: and to book on visit the Opportunities Centre or suopportunties@uclan.ac.uk HEAR Every student who graduates from UCLan is eligible for a HEAR transcript (Higher Education Achievement Report). In 2013 over 88,000 graduates received the record and increasingly employees will be keen to see them as more and more graduates receive them. The HEAR transcript documents a number of activities during your University including an increasing number of Union volunteering activities. Look out for the Counts towards your HEAR icon in this guide. HEAR is an opt in process and you will be contacted by your volunteer manager if your activity is eligible for HEAR to ask you if you want the activity included on your transcript. Watch The Higher Education Achievement Report Introduction by The Higher Education Academy: In 2013 over 88,000 graduates received the record and increasingly employees will be keen to see them as more and more graduates receive them

7 As part of signing up to be a volunteer we ask you to enter into a Volunteer Agreement with the Union. This sets out clear expectations of what you can expect of the Students Union in supporting you in your role and what we hope you can do whilst volunteering. This isn t a legally binding contract or an intention to create an employment relationship either now or in the future. You can expect UCLan Students Union to: Induct you into how the organisation works and your role Provide you with a Volunteering Handbook Provide a role description for your role and offer additional role development training where appropriate To consult with you over any changes to your volunteering role Support you in conducting risk assessments in advance by the appropriate staff member Deliver any support or materials on time, as agreed with you Respond to your s within a reasonable timeframe are dealing with the problem Respect your skills, dignity and individual wishes and do our best to meet them Provide training through our Stand Up, Stand Out programme to support your development To apply our equality and diversity policy to all volunteering activities Ensure you are never out of pocket due to your volunteering, providing it has been approved Provide insurance for you and your activities, as long as you have followed procedures Investigate your complaints straight away, but if we can t we will keep you updated on how we Regularly sign off any hours for the Livesey Award through the online volunteering database Offer you regular occasions to feedback on your volunteer experience Support you in gaining skills from your volunteering opportunity and having fun What we hope from you: the skills to carry out the Equality and Diversity policy of the Students Union Treat other volunteers and staff with respect and courtesy Refuse demands you consider unrealistic, beyond the scope of the role or that you do not have Attend training to induct you into how the organisation works and your role To read and adhere to the Volunteering Handbook and accompanying policies, particularly To follow UCLan Students Union policies and procedures Complete & provide risk assessments in accordance with timescales outlined in your role handbooks To not purchase any goods or services without speaking to the relevant staff member first To respond to our s within a reasonable timeframe To attend on time, or to give reasonable notice to cancel or rearrange meetings with staff It s important you can give feedback on your volunteering role and there are a number of ways to do this.

8 Speak to your Volunteer Manager Every volunteer role has a staff member within the Union assigned to support it and they are known as a Volunteer manager. They are on a rolling programme of staff development to ensure they are up to date with best practice in volunteer management. You should have been introduced to them during initial training for the role. Sometimes you will face challenging situations or want to get a second opinion on how to deal with an issue. Volunteer Managers want you to succeed and will do all they can to help. When challenges arise we like to use a volunteering strategy known as the 4 R s Respond to the events and take control of the situation Recover the situation by taking effective measures to continue to function effectively Record what has happened and what action was taken in response Reflect on the incident, why it occurred and what measures could be put in place to mitigate fit from occurring again Annual Volunteer Survey Each year we ask all students who take part in volunteering within the Students Union to complete a short survey. This is a chance to formally give feedback so that we can all celebrate the positives and work on any areas that need improvement.

9 ...about the different roles There are a number of different volunteering roles within the organisation. You should be able to access from the website pages more information about each role including a role description and any information about training and recruitment. Volunteer Role Advice Centre Volunteer Burnley Resource Centre Volunteer Befriending Campaigns Course Reps Duke of Edinburgh Project Get in 2 Volunteer Green Ladder Project Media (Frequency, PSTV, Pluto) School President School Project Volunteer Societies Students Council Trustee Team UCLan Sports Clubs contact SuAdvice@uclan.ac.uk YourUnion@uclan.ac.uk BefriendingService@uclan.ac.uk sucampaigns@uclan.ac.uk CourseReps@uclan.ac.uk SuOpportunties@uclan.ac.uk Getin2@uclan.ac.uk ERBartlet@uclan.ac.uk SUMedia@Uclan.ac.uk CourseReps@uclan.ac.uk SuOpportunties@uclan.ac.uk SuOpportunties@uclan.ac.uk YourUnion@uclan.ac.uk SUPresident@uclan.ac.uk SuTeam@uclan.ac.uk

10 Volunteering Policy A full volunteering policy and accompanying documents can be found here. The Volunteering Policy sets out exactly what you can expect of your Union and includes important information on induction and training, expenses, grievance and complaints procedures and Equality and Diversity procedures. Promotion You may want to promote your volunteering activity and there are a number of ways we can help you with this. You can submit something for the student newspaper Pluto to sumedia@uclan.ac.uk and if you have a good news story about your volunteering please share this with your volunteer manager and we can ensure this is promoted through the Union website and social networks. If you are looking to create printed materials there is a Print Shop within the Students Union building. Risk Assessment and Health and Safety In your individual guides for volunteering roles guidance on any necessary risk assessments that you should carry out. There are Health and Safety sessions as part of Stand Up, Stand Out where you can find out more about this and for some volunteering roles this will be a required part of the role. If you are asked to drive volunteers this may affect your insurance. If you do intend to do this please check with your volunteer manager before doing so. Other Information Any other relevant information will be specific to individual volunteering roles. You can expect your volunteer manager to provide you with a role description and appropriate information and guidance for any activities relevant to the role you are undertaking.