Awarding Your Hard Work

"Cheers" from the Sabb Team  

Greetings my lovelies! We are now coming to the end of what has been the season of awards ceremonies with the Kent Union awards; K.S.C.V. Medway and Canterbury, The first ever K.I.C. media awards as well as the Employability points awards night. Phew!  

Its a time of year that I thoroughly enjoy, being able to congratulate volunteers on the dedication and time that they have given as well as give special thanks to some of the high achievers this year. My society being a previous winner, I know how much these accolades can mean.  As well as the trophies, certificates and prizes that were given, there was food and drink laid on for all attendees.   

Jess has recieved so many awards this year it's lost its appeal 

The K.I.C. media awards were a massive success in this, their first year with many of the categories being judged by industry professionals adding real kudos to the prizes. I was so glad to have been involved in student media over the last two years which has gone from strength to strength. If you weren't already aware the space previously known as the Attic will sadly serve its last pint this exam term but joyfully burst from its summer break cocoon to emerge as a beautiful new media centre of which our volunteers are much deserving. I am so excited I nearly wee-d myself and I'm so glad this part of the  project has come to fruition in my time.      

Hand's Up if You Volunteer? KSCV Medway

Unfortunately, this was my last opportunity to give our volunteers a pat on the back as at the end of this month the current team will depart and you will have an nice new shiny team with less grey hair than me! Guaranteed! If you weren't able to make the Kent Union awards missed my self indulgent speech. Here it is in the frame below!     

Get Involved! Have an experience! Learn Valuable Skills

The Part time officer elections are coming up! Perhaps you are thinking; what's a part-time officer? Or, what's that to me? Or, why should I be interested? Then hopefully this short blog entry should be of some benefit.

Any union member who is a student studying a University of Kent course can stand in election to be a part-time officer. There are a very wide range of these posts from the liberation officers doing important campaigning work through the representation of women, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi, trans-people) ethnic minorities and students with disabilities, to the college presidents who organise social, fundraising, sporting and pastoral events in each of the colleges. The roles are voluntary and hours invested by officers can be logged through the employability and volunteering toolkit  and also accrue employability points as part of the EP scheme. Together these schemes offer volunteers the opportunity to record and develop their experience and recognise the soft and transferable skills that have been developed during volunteering and awards internships, work-placements  as well as prizes such as Amazon vouchers to students based on the number of points they have earned.

As well as developing skills which employers really value such as communicating with a wide range of different people, being organised, report writing and public speaking (for instance) volunteering to be a part-time officer is a great way to meet people and make new friends and connections. It is also an excellent way to learn more about the workings of the Union and University and is a great opportunity to give back to the student body and really make a change that will improve the University experience for the benefit of all students. It is also an opportunity that opens doorways to other options, through increased exposure to the full time sabbatical officers you may get an idea of whether this is a path that you might like to consider yourself.

Part of the role whether the Ethics officer or international students' officer, is to sit on Union council, one of the most senior decision making bodies in the Union where all part-time ad full-time officers discuss matters brought by members of the council or the membership of the wider student body. This is an excellent way to learn more about others' politics and ultimately come to understand the different perspectives of individuals. I have always found that through understanding the motivations of others I can better understand my own perspective. Its also always good to be challenged on views that you may have always taken for granted. Sometimes it can get pretty heated, but this is how you know that the topics mean something to people and are therefore worth debating.        

The amount of time spent volunteering can vary incredibly and its always worth remembering that it is better to have someone in a post doing one hour a week than no-one in post. Even if you have not been involved in the past and this may be your first volunteering experience there is training provided all the way. In addition, this year has been the pilot year of a new scheme which has trained all full and part-time officers in Volunteer management, a qualification accredited with the Institute of Leaders and managers. More information can be found on this in my previous blogs.

As well as representation on a local level can lead to running for NUS (national union) delegate position, representing Kent students on a national level and making sure that our voices our heard. Gaining exposure to students from around the country has given me an incredible sense of wider community, that students are 'in it together' which on its own is a feeling worth having.

If you would like to discuss any of the opportunities available please contact me by email on or on twitter @kbuddinyourface and I can direct you to the best person if I don't  know the answer myself.

Although full-time officers sometimes have the most time to dedicate, some of the greatest achievements in Student Union history have been from dedicated part-time officers and volunteers. Just ask them yourselves here!

Nominations close at 12:00 on Wednesday 6 February 2013 

The polls open at 17:00 on Friday 8 February 2013 

Nominate yourself here! 

K.S.C.V Awards night 2011-2012

I thought I might write a few words about the K.S.C.V awards nights. These are annual events at Medway and Canterbury Campus which celebrate all of the hard work and time that is given so freely by dedicated students at the University of Kent.

Medway's Asian Society

Last Night's Medway awards was well attended, volunteers collectively contributing 5,000 hours+ with the vast majority being within the local community. Certificates were awarded by the Deputy Major of Medway also giving a speech with Tom Ritchie (Union President). There was a dance performance from Medway's Asian  Society as well as a buffet which was enjoyed by all.     

This year over 80,000 voluntary hours were logged by Kent students across the Campuses which was nearly a doubling of last year's 45,000 hours. A very impressive figure. Apart from the 250 attendees recieving awards from across the spectrum from 25 hours 'Bronze award' to the highly demanding 'platinum award' which constitutes a 15 credit module which can be taken as part of the volunteer's degree or can be used for additional credits. The University Of Kent is one of only three universities I am aware of that offer a volunteering award like this. 

The K.S.C.V Gold Certificate is awarded
to volunteers contributing at leas 100 hours

In Canterbury, Special congratulations were given to Simon Smith of the Magic Society for contributing a total of 1,000 hours of volunteering during the course of his platinum award. Certificates were also awarded by Kent Raise and Give the charitable arm of Kent Union's volunteers who's 'escape and evade' event had seen volunteers raise over £500 for charitable causes. In the event, students must try to get as far away from the University as possibe and back for free. 

As well as the awardees themselves there were also speeches from Tom Ritchie Union president who's speech stressed the 'transformative' nature of volunteering changing the individual and community for the better. Keith Mander spoke on behalf of the University thanking the volunteers for their continuing efforts over the years and expressing that time is a comodity more valuable the money which is being donated. Thirdly Derek Smith, graduate of the univeristy of Kent and external trustee on Kent Union's Board shared his memories experiences of the people met and experiences shared at University, his message was that 'people are more important than things' and giving an alternative meaning to the student certificate in Volunteering as 'Keep Serving, continue volunteering.'

'Platinum' Awardees 2011, Canterbury   

My own message was of the responsibility that we have as a generation for the continuation of Voluntary work, that not only are we contributing to the community through the work we do but that in doing so we are passing on our personal values, giving something back and the idea that every individual can make a difference. Often Students dont think of themselves as volunteers because the projects that they are working on are of personal interest to them as if the fact that they are passionate about a good cause makes it less valuable. This is of course not the case. Finally, the work that we are doing in the community is combating ageism and the misconceptions that students have a negative net impact on the local community. If you were to ask any of the local causes that students have been working with I think they would confirm that the contrary is true.

If you are interested in getting involved in something new or want to further your volunteering experience you can contact s.l.j.hughes@kent.ac.uk for details of how to get started. It may be the most rewarding thing you ever do and you don't know what it could lead to... this was the case for me.