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Volunteering benefits and opportunities

Tom Davie

Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre

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Volunteering offers you the opportunity to:

Contribute to the welfare and development of others

Have an impact on the physical environment

Experience different lifestyles and cultures

Develop transferable skills for the future – look good on your CV!

Help you with future related jobs or postgraduate study

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Volunteer Organisations - types

Cause specificAmnesty International, Red Cross, WWF…

Governmental/Educational British Council, JET…

‘Charities’VSO, L’Arche, OXFAM…

Religious emphasisCAFOD, Christian African Relief Trust, Arab Orthodox Society…

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Volunteering at ‘home’

Community work/welfare

Youth work related

Environment/Conservation

Health Sector

Heritage/Museum Work

Sport and leisure

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Abroad – what type of voluntary experience and what places?

Social

Educational

Environmental/conservation

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Volunteering - Internationally

Combine travel & project based activities?

Do a number of short projects or one long one?

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There are transferable skills gained from volunteering

→ Planning

→ Communication

→ Self awareness

→ Problem solving

→ Team work

→ Cultural adaptation

→ Understanding of societal issues

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You have to adapt…

Culturally

Climatically

Poverty

Sanitary

Safety

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You can records skills and promote them…

Document your activities – use the PDP

Teamwork, problem solving, communication, initiative etc

Market your experience to employers/universities in the future.

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It can help you find employment in any sector that meets your values…

Last year we raised over £6.1m for our charity of the year, Marie Curie Cancer Care, and this year we’re going all out for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. Tesco

Our ‘Live, Lean and Thrive’ Corporate Cause aims to improve the lives of children throughout the world. Proctor and Gamble

Leaders in the search for renewable power sources, having developed the

UK’s first offshore wind farm and operating hydroelectric power stations…conducting business with a sense of responsibility for

the environment, customers and communities. npower

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And the 3rd Sector has jobs… Social Development Junior Consultant

SDDirect is an international network of over 200 professionals with expertise in social development, gender, human rights, political science, conflict and peace building and governance. We are committed to the eradication of poverty, global inequality and injustice.

We are looking for a confident, motivated self starter. This is a busy and varied role with plenty of scope for development. You will provide high-quality consultancy advice to a range of multinational, government and NGO clients working in international development, particularly in the areas of gender, civil society engagement, conflict, justice or governance.

You might be expected to provide a rapid-response research analysis on the social exclusion around maternal health, produce an in-depth literature review on gender and security sector reform or put together a proposal for an assessment of child rights in Central Asia. You may be required to travel to developing countries to carry out assignments.

Salary in the region of £25,000 p.a.

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CAREERS, EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTERPISE CENTRE

University of Durham49 New Elvet

DurhamDH1 3PF

Tel: 0191 334 1430

careers-advice@durham.ac.uk

www.dur.ac.uk/careers-advice

Monday to Friday10am – 5pm (term time)

10am – 1pm and 2.15pm – 5pm (vacations)