SVS

Students sign up to fiery challenge Students across the UK are being given the chance to take part in a fiery fundraising challenge – and help vulnerable children at the same time.

Launched this month by Barnardo’s Student Programme, the HOT 100 challenge aims to get 100 students from across the UK signed up to each raise £1,000 , making a total of £100,000 for the charity by March 2011. Students at colleges and universities nationwide can take part by running their own fundraising events, organising street collections or taking part in challenge events to reach their goal in the quickest way possible. Not only will the students have the satisfaction of knowing the money they raise will help Barnardo’s to continue their work to improve the lives of vulnerable children, they will each be rewarded with a prize to the value of up to £450.

We are holding a networking day and AGM on Thursday 30th September from 2:30pm to 5pm, which will be hosted by the Edinburgh Student Charities Appeal (ESCA) at the Teviot Building (click link for a map), Edinburgh University.

The event will give you a chance to meet fellow student volunteering officers and staff, as well as voluntary sector staff interested in engaging students. We will also be holding our Annual General Meeting, which will include our proposed new constitution, and the election of our Board of Directors.

Attendance is free of charge to all members, and catering will be provided. Please register your intention to come along to help us judge catering requirements, and submit a membership registration form in advance to ease administration.

An agenda and AGM Papers are available below, including a 'flyer' which describes the content of the day in a bit more detail.

Developed and promoted by Volunteer Development Scotland, VSkills for Employability is a brand new, volunteering-based approach to demonstrate and collect evidence of the general work skills acquired through the experience of volunteering. The VSkills for Employability approach supports volunteers to capture these skills and gain a qualification in employability. This award is available in every school and college in Scotland.

The goal of VSkills for Employability is to improve the employment prospects of people who are volunteering but not currently in work.  It’s free to take part and provides a way of recognising the skills, qualities and attributes volunteers are gaining from their volunteering experience.

We would encourage you to spread the word about VSkills for Employability to your colleagues and through your networks, internal newsletters and external websites. 

Further information and guidance is available at www.vds.org.uk/VSkills.aspx  where you can find out more.

Student Volunteering Scotland is now taking membership registrations. In order to participate in SVS activities, use our services or online resources or vote at General Meetings, we ask that you sign-up as members. This also allows us to contact you with news and information.

National Union of Student Scotland (NUS Scotland) is holding a convention of students and student groups on August.

Spaces are limited and offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you would like be a part of this year’s Gathering please contact Alasdair Griffiths, Communications and Campaigns Officer, at NUS Scotland on 0131 556 6598.

SVS will be running a stall at the event and we look forward to seeing some of you there!

Last month, Student Volunteering Scotland completed its move in to the HQ of the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, under a new partnership agreement. We will be working closely with SCVO on a number of projects aimed at facilitating greater involvement of students with the voluntary sector.

In an article published in the 'Podium' column of Third Force News, the SCVO-produced newspaper for the Voluntary Sector in Scotland, Executive Director Phyl Meyer discussed this move and the current factors which mean there is now more need than ever for a national effort to support and encourage student engagement with charities and social enterprises.

We had been planning a networking event and General Meeting this month, but feedback suggested that it would be better to delay this until after the summer break - so please note that the date mentioned in the article has been cancelled. We will publish a new date in due course and hope you will be able to join us then.

In the meantime, SVS faces an exciting time of development and we are looking for new members to get involved in our Board and contribute to the direction and strategy of the organisation ahead of the General Meeting. If you might be interested in this, please contact us.

Tuesday 1st June, 2010- Volunteers Awards @ Angus College, Arbroath

The focus was on the subject of Volunteering at Angus College this week as the College hosted its first ever Volunteering Fayre alongside its annual Volunteer Award Ceremony. Over 95 students were nominated to attend the ceremony which formally recognised their volunteering efforts both internally and externally.

Among those recognised for their contributions where three winners of the SVS Gold Award for outstanding achievement, dedication and leadership in student volunteering.

SVS is undergoing some significant changes. We are in the process of looking to move to a new base with SCVO - on which there will be a more formal announcement soon. This is part of a new partnership between our organisations which will involve work on a number of areas of mutual interest.

As part of the move, we are appointing a part time Executive Director to carry out partnership development work, establish the organisation in its new home, and develop and secure new funding sources and project work. Part of this will involve a large recruitment drive for new Board members, and the organisation of a networking event.

There have been a great many changes in the voluntary sector since SVS was founded, and in order to respond to this the board are currently considering a shift in the overall aims and objectives of the organisation to more broadly accomodate what we believe the sector needs from us - a general interface between students and the voluntary sector, with a strong development and partnership support role.

We will publish more details as they are agreed, but if you have a particular interest in getting involved in this discussion within the organisation please contact us - we would welcome your input.

As agreed at the Scottish Rag Conference hosted by ESCA, Student Volunteering Scotland are now hosting a network for Scottish Rags and students' charitable societies and groups.

Anyone with a direct involvement with such groups is welcome to join, as well as charity reps that engage with student Rags and charities appeals.

The e-mail group is hosted on Google Groups, and you can request to join here:

Subscribe to Scottish Rag Network

Email:

Visit this group

We hope the network will help the sharing of good practice, ideas and suggestions, and joint working between Rags across Scotland, and better communication with voluntary sector contacts.

Leadership - Dedication - Achievement

Student Volunteering Scotland are very proud to run the most prestigious awards for volunteering by students in Scotland – the Student Volunteering Scotland Gold Awards. Sponsored by Volunteer Development Scotland and provided with support from Awards for All.