The SU Volunteering Award
As your Students’ Union, we can play a part in helping you become more recruitable to graduate employers through our SU Volunteering Award. If you hold any of the voluntary roles listed below, start logging your hours today and get officially recognised for your voluntary efforts as follows:
- Your First 25 Hours
- Log 25+ Hours
- Download a certificate from your Volunteering Profile
- Committed Student Volunteer
- Log 50+ Hours
- Download a “Committed Student Volunteer” certificate
- Dedicated Student Volunteer
- Log 100+ Hours
- Download a "Dedicated Student Volunteer" certificate
- Outstanding Student Volunteer
- Log 200+ Hours
- Download an "Outstanding Student Volunteer" certificate
- Eligible Roles/Activities
- Committee/ Members of a SU affiliated Society/Sports Club/Student Group
- Volunteering or Fundraising for any charity/non-profit
- SU Course Reps/School Reps/Part Time Officers
- SU Social Sport Volunteers
- SU Peer 2 Peer Trainers
How to get Recognised
Reflection Tools
Examples of Evidence to Showcase Your Efforts
Written Reflection Guidance For Committed Student Volunteer Award
FAQ's
What hours can I log?
Any voluntary (unpaid) hours where you have, as part of the eligible roles/activities mentioned above, spent time:
- Organising activities/events/training sessions
- Attending meetings
- Creating opportunities for fellow students
- Supporting fellow students
- Volunteering/Fundraising for a charity/non-profit
Whilst you may count hours spent organising and hosting events/activities such as sports fixtures, fun activities, charity events etc., you cannot include the time you spent taking part in the event/activity yourself. For example, if you organised a sports fixture, and then played for your team as part of that event, then the time you spent playing for your team cannot be counted as hours.
If you are unsure on what you can and cannot log, please speak to a member of SU Staff, or e-mail
volunteer@su.plymouth.ac.uk
Is there a deadline for logging hours?
Yes, you must complete your logging of hours for each academic year by 31st July and download any certificates you have gained.
I am a member of an SU affiliated Sports Club/Society, and have undertaken some volunteering/fundraising for a charity/non-profit. Under which section do I log my hours?
Please log your hours under the “Community Volunteering and Charity Fundraising” section on the page where you log your hours. This will still count towards the total amount of voluntary hours you have logged.
Where can I track my progress?
You can keep up to date on where you are in achieving the set levels of recognition by keeping an eye on your Volunteering Profile.
Can I achieve “Outstanding Student Volunteer” without having achieved the lower levels of recognition?
No! You have to have completed all of the relevant tasks of the previous level/s to then achieve the next level up. You will however be able to continue logging your hours regardless of the level you have achieved.
Do I have to undertake the relevant reflection exercises at each level?
If you want to be officially recognised as either a Committed, Dedicated or Outstanding Student Volunteer and be able to download a certificate highlighting this achievement, then yes, you will need to complete each relevant reflection exercise. You can however simply log your hours, have them verified by us, and then print them off before July 31st, to then showcase to future employers what you have done in your voluntary role/s.
Where can I find the hours I have logged in previous academic years?
Your volunteer profile and progress is reset at the end of every academic year, so make sure you log any outstanding hours and download any certificates before 31st July! However, if you didn't manage to download your certificates in time, you can contact
the team who will be able to download an overview of your volunteering hours for the year.