Over the past three years at the University of Leeds, I have undertaken Sports Volunteering for both the Newsam Centre and the Becklin Centre. My role was to facilitate service user engagement in activities, which ranged from playing football outside to playing table tennis indoors when the weather was not so good, alongside several other activities.
The role required enthusiasm and a willingness to engage with service users in a confident way. This skill took time to develop, but volunteering helped me develop it quickly.
I had the privilege of being one of two volunteers selected in my second year to trial sports volunteering in the PICU ward at the Newsam Centre. A lot of support was provided by the NHS Volunteering Service, especially by Caroline Agnew, who I would like to thank in particular for her constant support throughout my volunteering journey.
Reasons to volunteer
I am interested in mental health, and volunteering posed a great opportunity for me to gain practical experience in a field I wish to one day enter.
I also wanted to develop the skills required to work in such an environment, such as enthusiasm, confidence and resilience when things might be difficult.
Volunteering has facilitated the development of skills which I believe has not only improved my professional characteristics but also my personal characteristics.
New skills and new confidence
Meeting new people, including staff, service users and fellow volunteers, has been invaluable. It has improved my confidence both in working as a team and communicating.
Almost every volunteering session was different, which never made it boring. It has had a positive impact on my professional skills and personal development, especially through enhancing my confidence.
Friendly competition
My favourite part has been meeting new people and playing sports, especially when things got competitive.
I would often play football with service users and staff. This was valued not only by service users but also by staff as a fun activity that helped everyone.
Everyone would really put in effort and I could tell each side really wanted to win.
We would often play badminton too, which everyone approached with the same vigour and competition.
Advice for future volunteers
My first piece of advice would be not to worry. I remember feeling incredibly nervous the first time I went, but these nerves vanished pretty quick. You just have to go into it with an open mind, and have fun.
It is an experience you will not regret, and a relatively small commitment that never got in the way of my studies. Overall, my advice would be to do it.
More information about volunteering
- Read more student profiles about volunteering
- Find out more about volunteering opportunities as a student at Leeds
If you’re a not-for-profit organisation in Leeds that would benefit from student volunteers, email the Volunteering Team at volunteer@leeds.ac.uk.