Congratulations to VTeam
Congratulations to VTeam, student-led volunteering at Essex SU, for being awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service 2023 – the highest national award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
This would not have been possible with all the hard work and hours that our students and staff put into VTeam! A BIG shoutout to each and every one of you! This award is all yours, and we're super excited to party with you when the award is presented next year.
“The University of Essex Students’ Union’s VTeam is a record-breaking collective of students at the University of Essex who, with the support of the Students’ Union, volunteer thousands of hours to make a positive difference to people’s lives. Their impressive roster of volunteering projects includes cultural integration for refugees, support for the vulnerable both young and old, schools’ projects around science, maths, languages, and more, plus a range of larger projects supporting charities and community events, and tackling big issues like the environment and mental health” - Chris Moore, SU Volunteering Manager.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Forster said: “I am extremely proud of each of our student volunteers. They represent the Essex Spirit in action and this national award for the vTeam is extremely well deserved. As we begin our 60th anniversary celebrations, this award is fitting recognition for the amazing impact of our student volunteers over many years.”
VTeam representatives will receive the King’s Award crystal and certificate from the Lord-Lieutenant of Essex Jennifer Tolhurst at a future date and two VTeam volunteers will be invited to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace next summer.
Recent MSc Speech and Language Therapy graduate Rosie Waspe was Project Leader for Poetic Legacies last year and was long-listed for a National Societies and Volunteering Award. Through the project volunteers created a poetry anthology for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, available for palliative patients, their families and the staff supporting them.
Rosie said: “It has been the greatest pleasure and privilege to share my time with VTeam over the course of my MSc. Setting up the ‘Poetic Legacies’ project and working with students from all different backgrounds and disciplines has been a truly insightful and humbling experience - I am so grateful for all of the encouragement and support I have received from the team.”
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service was created in 2002 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee and, following his accession, His Majesty The King emphasised his desire to continue the Award and recipients are announced annually on 14 November, The King’s Birthday.
Want to join our *award winning* VTeam?
There’s a variety of projects you can get involved with; from farming to art, creative writing to numbers. You’ll:
• Meet others
• Gain transferable skills
• Help the local community
• Upgrade your CV
VTeam aims to give students rewarding experiences while also helping them gain transferable skills for the future. With various types of regular, one-off, and online projects and VTeam covering all travelling and equipment costs, there's something for every one to get involved with.
Do good, feel good!