In my very first year joining VTeam, during my foundation year, I was struggling to get involved with volunteering projects and started small by simply joining one-off projects once in a while. One-off projects, such as painting projects, are amazing especially in your first year at University as they enable you to meet new individuals, and quite frankly enable you to have a lot of fun as well. During one of these painting projects, we went to a Youth centre, where I was able to meet the wonderful ladies running it and decided to get involved helping around with children as part of placement in that centre. At that moment, I realised that VTeam could also serve as a platform of personal growth in which you could progressively move from being a regular volunteer to running your very own project! So, I decided to get involved 100% with a project named Lend a Hand run by a friend at that time, a project teaching adults with learning disabilities life skills, such as Maths or English. I was able to meet all the learners and got really attached to every single one of them. I enjoyed teaching them so much that in my second year at University, I became the Project Leader of Lend a Hand and was able to positively impact the learners by helping them every Sunday afternoon!

As said above, volunteering helped me on a personal level as well. Naturally having a shy and introverted personality, I was able to improve my confidence by speaking in public and teaching a group of adult learners. As a Project Leader, I was also able to improve my communication and leadership skills, which are skills most employers search for nowadays! I personally also strongly believe that helping people in need enables you to put your priorities back in place and helping the learners achieve their monthly goals or seeing them smile about doing fractions for the first time is truly one of the most heart-warming feelings ever.

To be completely honest, volunteering is a commitment. However, if you are anxious or apprehensive of spending a couple of hours volunteering weekly, I strongly advise you to just try a one-off project! Trust me, you won’t regret it: it is the perfect opportunity for you to meet new people and relax from the stress university can put on your shoulders. And there are plenty to pick from, from animal farms to painting projects, so you won’t be restricted on the diversity of projects to pick from! So, get involved at least once to try it out; you won’t regret it.