Volunteering at NTU
find out about some of the volunteering programmes our colleagues and students take part in to give back to the community.
Volunteering is a great way of engaging with the community. Last year, NTU students and colleagues volunteered over 60,000 hours of their time in community projects and volunteering initiatives in organisations that have real-life impact. These range from helping school children to improve their reading ability to volunteering for global charities.
Below are some of the inspiring projects that our students and colleagues have taken part in over the past year that have impacted the lives of themselves and others, locally and globally:
ClickSilver
This is a mentoring programme for older people who want to learn new technical skills or want to become more comfortable using computers, tablets and mobile phones. Participants are paired with an NTU student mentor, and they work together on a one-to-one basis over six weeks. The pace is driven by the participant, so it suits everyone that engages with the course.
“This course is great as it’s tailored to my individual learning needs and that’s what I really appreciate. I’ve had a positive experience here.”
ClickSilver participant
NBS Give Back Week
In March 2019 Nottingham Business School (NBS), in conjunction with the Community Engagement & Volunteering team and the University’s Collaborative Engagement and Retention Team (CERT), held the first annual ‘Give Back Week’. This provided NBS students with the opportunity to take part in volunteering activities across the week.
The schedule of events was diverse and provided the students with a great opportunity to give back to the local community, as well as develop a range of transferable skills.
The activities included:
- creating a community cricket area at Forest Fields school
- supporting the Summerwood Community Gardens in Clifton
- helping at Stonebridge City Farm
- restoring a historic wall at Wollaton Hall
- supporting the Sea Cadets.
Right to Read
This scheme involves NTU colleagues providing a regular commitment of one hour each week to develop pupil literacy levels by supporting a child’s reading.
A volunteer can help improve a child's reading age by as much as six months in just three months. NTU supports the Right to Read programme in Forest Fields Primary School, Welbeck Primary School in the Meadows and Dovecote Primary School in Clifton.
“A teacher from Forest Fields Primary has let me know that the target children I've been working with this year have all improved 20%+ on their reading papers!
I feel really lucky to be able to go out and use my time to do this volunteering, and I'm proud to work somewhere that encourages and enables it.”
Right to Read volunteer
Colleagues can find out more about this role by visiting the staff volunteering website.
To find out about the full range of volunteering opportunities on offer and how you can get involved please go to the student Volunteering website, the staff Volunteering website, or contact the Volunteering team.
If you are a community organisation interested in partnering with NTU, then please go to our Community Organisations webpage for details.