As part of the 35 hours of Experience, you must complete some volunteering hours. There is a great deal more to volunteering than you might think. For the purpose of the RED Award, volunteering can be defined as working for the benefit of others and developing personal skills, without monetary gain.
You can choose to do as little as 1 hour volunteering as part of the Experience section, or you could choose to do as many as 35 hours – the choice is yours!
If you take part in an activity you enjoy, or pursue your own interests, it can still count as volunteering! Here are some ideas on where to get started:
Volunteering through the university
Volunteer through the Student's Union
- Reading Students' Union Volunteering
- Course Representatives
- Committee Member of a Sports Club or Society
Volunteering in the local community
Reading Voluntary Action (RVA) is the place to find volunteering opportunities in the local area. They provide information and access to resources for volunteers, as well as working to recruit and train the people who work with charities, community groups and other voluntary organisations in Reading. They work with a wide range of projects such as community development, befriending schemes, technological help and much, much more.
National and online volunteering
We regularly update a list of volunteering opportunities, which includes online volunteering opportunities. View our up-to-date list of volunteering opportunities.
*If you are not sure if your activity would count as volunteering, please email red@reading.ac.uk and we can let you know!
Providing evidence of your activity
When recording your hours through the MyJobsOnline Pathway you will need to provide evidence of your completed hours. In this area the following may be suitable evidence:
- An email from the organisation you volunteered with confirming your activity.
- For schemes such as Students in Schools you may have a school visit log or similar which can be used.
- For online volunteering you could take screenshots of the volunteering you have been doing and use these as evidence.
Discover the benefits of volunteering and access UoR schemes