Frequently Asked Questions

• Course Reps
• Inspiring Projects volunteers
• One-off Wednesdays volunteers
• Media volunteers
• School Presidents
• Sports or Societies Committee members
• Part of the Students’ Council
• In the Society or Sports Development Committees
• Student Trustees

The SU’s student-led volunteering projects that you can get involved with are found here:

Volunteering Opportunities (uclansu.co.uk), but there are also hundreds of opportunities in the local community available with the university’s volunteering team here:

Centre for Volunteering and Leadership

Yes! If you feel passionately about a cause or have a great idea for a volunteering project, get in touch and we can help turn your idea into a project or campaign. Simply email suvolunteering@uclan.ac.uk with an outline of your idea and we’ll help you do the rest.

Raising and Giving (RAG) is Union fundraising in line with Charity Law and is governed by the RAG Committee, with support from the Inspiring Projects and Societies teams and Vice President of Activities.

UCLan SU’s RAG’s aim is to raise money for charity by holding a variety of fundraising events. The Committee also support student groups and individuals raising money for charities through events and activities. So if you’re part of a sport club or society and are fundraising for any charity don’t forget to let RAG know so we can add your money to our total.

A full RAG policy can be viewed on our website.

If you like raising money or have an interest in events planning, you might like to get involved.

Be a part of our RAG Development Committee and help us shape it into a more exciting and rewarding student experience. Even if you cannot commit to a lot of time, we want you to get involved. So, if you are up for it just sign up on the SU website or contact us at suvolunteering@uclan.ac.uk.

We have a number of different awards you can achieve throughout the year, including:

ABCD (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty) Award - Each month the Union gives an award to a student volunteer that goes Above and Beyond the Call of Duty in their role.

The award is nominated and chosen by volunteer managers to recognize the great work that we see, and we will notify you by email if you are nominated or chosen as the winner.

The ACEs and Sports Ball - These both take place at the end of the academic year, around April.

The ACEs (Awarding and Celebrating Excellent students) is our BRAND NEW annual celebration commemorating all the amazing volunteers and student staff we have across the Union. This is made up of a brilliant evening event where we can all come together to celebrate, as well as awards for our hardworking volunteers and student staff.

The awards are nominated and voted for by you and recognize outstanding volunteers and the work of groups throughout the year.

Sports Ball is an annual black-tie event which is an end of season celebration for all members of sports clubs at UCLan.

There are a number of awards presented which recognise the volunteering efforts of club and committee members, and the performance of teams along with a ‘Sports Personality’ award.

The Union Volunteering Award is the SU’s way of rewarding you and recognising all the hard work, time, and effort that students put into volunteering with us. You can log any volunteering you have done for the Students’ Union towards this award, and you will receive certificates once you’ve logged 30, 60, 90 and 100+ hours.

30 hours = Bronze, 60 hours = Silver, 90 hours = Gold, above 100 hours = Highly Commended (awarded in your final year).

Your volunteering information will also appear on your HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Report) final degree transcript if you choose it to. This can be used in job interviews as evidence of your commitment to volunteering whilst at university.

There are a variety of ways you accumulate volunteering hours for the Volunteering Award, including some that you probably didn’t even realise count. These include:

• Participating in One-off Wednesday activities
• Ordering and sorting out kit for sports clubs
• Dealing with your teams/societies’ money and finances
• Planning and organizing trips and events (but NOT socials or TOUR)
• Running your team’s social media
• Volunteer coaching/leading sessions
• Attending meetings (e.g., with your committee, potential sponsors, SU staff or the university)
• Gathering feedback from students
• Training sessions you have attended that are key to your role
• Course Rep or School-based events
• Student feedback review meetings
• Paperwork and research for your volunteer role

As a Sports / Society / Inspiring Projects volunteer you will be offered all the training you need to complete your role.

As well as training that is held throughout the year, you can also apply to attend our annual Volunteer Development Residential, which is a two-day stay aimed at improving key skills such as teamwork, leadership, and communication through fun activities inside and outdoors.

The jam-packed event provides you with an opportunity to improve on your skills and implement what you learn into your volunteering. Watch out for when we open applications in November!

When you sign up to be a volunteer with the Students’ Union you enter into a Volunteer Agreement with the Union. This sets out clear expectations of what you can expect from the Students’ Union in supporting you in your volunteering role. This is not a legally binding contract or an intention to create an employment relationship now or in future time.

The volunteering agreement can be found within the Volunteering Policy. This can be found at the bottom of the page.

If you want us to promote your volunteering activity, there are multiple ways in which we can help you.

Please email us at suvolunteering@uclan.ac.uk and we will aim to share your events or stories with the rest of the Union.

The Volunteering Policy sets out what you can expect of your Union and includes valuable information about induction and training, expenses, grievance, and complaints and Equality and Diversity procedures.

The full volunteering policy can be found at the bottom of the page.

If you are asked to drive volunteers to a destination, this may affect your insurance. So, if you do intend to do this, please email suvolunteering@uclan.ac.uk before doing so.