Volunteers at university in charity link-up (From Worcester News)

Volunteers at university in charity link-up

11:40pm Thursday 4th August 2011 in News By Alicia Kelly, @aliciakellyWN #worcsnews

UNIVERSITY students will be able to volunteer for a Worcester charity thanks to a partnership between the two organisations.

The University of Worcester Students’ Union has chosen charity Headway Worcester Trust to co-ordinate its volunteering opportunities for university students.

The charity, which supports adults with an acquired brain injury, will set up a variety of projects ranging from business management, fundraising, communications, marketing and web design, to visual merchandising and exhibitions. The hope is that students will also benefit by picking up skills that will make them more employable.

Claire Wagstaff, development manager for Headway Worcester Trust, said: “We are delighted that Worcester Students’ Union have chosen us to provide volunteering opportunities for their students.

“In addition to the more traditional volunteering roles, we want to offer a more progressive dimension to volunteering.

“In this challenging job market, we hope to make students more employable, giving them something extra while they are also providing a valuable service to the community.

“Our brain injury survivors and staff cannot wait to welcome the student volunteers in the coming months.”

SU president Sam Lewis said: “Students at the University of Worcester are always looking to make a real difference in their community and as such we are thrilled to be joining forces with such a worthwhile local charity.

“Working together with Headway Worcester we are keen to expand the volunteering opportunities on offer to appeal to our diverse student body, and substantially increase the number of students who will be volunteering.

“I look forward to working with Headway Worcester and witnessing the programme’s future success.”

Headway will be the first charity to provide the volunteering service to the university for the forthcoming academic year.