Why Should You Volunteer As A Student
Favour Onwudiwe and Haleema Rabeea are Co-Presidents of Barts Community Smiles, a volunteering group based at Barts and The London. You can find out more about what they do and how to join BCS on this link: https://www.qmsu.org/groups/17797/
Congratulations to all our new incoming Barts and the London students, we look forward to welcoming you! As a fresher, you must be excited to embark on your journey as a student here. Entering a new environment comes with a plethora of new opportunities, one of which is volunteering.
Our Personal Experiences
Before joining university, we both volunteered in our local communities and found the experiences to be rewarding. The sense of giving back to the community encouraged us to carry on volunteering once we joined university. We participated in volunteering experiences both outside and at university as part of QMSU or with student-led volunteering groups. There really are many opportunities available for you as a student! As our time at university went by, we got more involved with student-led volunteering groups by joining their committees and becoming regular volunteers. Being a regular volunteer is exciting as you get a chance to pitch your ideas and feedback on how you would like the activities to run.
Engage with the Community
Volunteering gave us the opportunity to meet members of the community, other volunteers and professionals too! Meeting other student volunteers will give you a chance to make new friends from outside your course and year group. As healthcare professionals, engaging with the community is an integral part of your experience. For example, if you volunteer with Teddy Bear Hospital, you will get to interact with children which will be invaluable to your career as it will develop your communication skills when dealing with your own paediatric patients.
Social Responsibility
One of the very first things you learn as a student here is social responsibility. This in essence means contributing to your local community by offering your skills and time, and one way of doing so is by volunteering. For example, tooth decay remains a serious problem in our local community with Tower Hamlets being one of the worst boroughs in London for tooth decay and well above the national average. Yet tooth decay is a largely preventable problem. Dental students, who have the skills to deliver oral hygiene advice can help in educating the local community by volunteering.
You can learn more about the volunteering opportunities available to you by visiting the QMSU website or speaking volunteering groups at Freshers Fair or the Big Volunteering Event. With a wide range of volunteering opportunities and groups, we are certain you will find one that will be of interest to you!
