1.2 Volunteering with the GUSH society:
Overview
In October 2013, a friendly member of the GUSH society (Glasgow University Service to the Homeless) made me aware of the huge number of homeless people in Glasgow. By joining their society and taking part in their weekly shifts, where food and hot drinks are provided to the homeless people, students like me can help make a difference. I followed her advice and was soon an active member of the society. I took part in many of the shifts which run twice every week, prepared the sandwiches and hot drinks with the other students and then handed them out to the homeless people in a specific location in Glasgow. Furthermore, I have also been involved in organising fund-raisers such as a very successful bake sale in January 2014, and I have also taken part in a first-aid course by the Red Cross in February 2014.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Impact on university studies
Being a volunteer meant for me that I would have to put in a lot of extra time which I could have otherwise used on my studies. This was especially difficult during exam time and the time just before exams. However, instead of impacting my university studies in a negative way, being a volunteer has actually benefited my academic studies in a couple of ways:
Both these skills are very important transferable skills, which I will describe in more detail in section 3. Skills evidence.
Impact on employability
The volunteering experience has helped me develop essential skills for future jobs.
In October 2013, a friendly member of the GUSH society (Glasgow University Service to the Homeless) made me aware of the huge number of homeless people in Glasgow. By joining their society and taking part in their weekly shifts, where food and hot drinks are provided to the homeless people, students like me can help make a difference. I followed her advice and was soon an active member of the society. I took part in many of the shifts which run twice every week, prepared the sandwiches and hot drinks with the other students and then handed them out to the homeless people in a specific location in Glasgow. Furthermore, I have also been involved in organising fund-raisers such as a very successful bake sale in January 2014, and I have also taken part in a first-aid course by the Red Cross in February 2014.
Intended Learning Outcomes
- Learning how to work collaboratively in a team during the weekly shifts (Team working)
- Signing up for shifts and keeping to assigned schedule (Time management)
- Constantly putting effort into staying engaged with this society (Commitment and self-management)
- Learning how to deal with conflicts and finding solutions (Conflict management)
Impact on university studies
Being a volunteer meant for me that I would have to put in a lot of extra time which I could have otherwise used on my studies. This was especially difficult during exam time and the time just before exams. However, instead of impacting my university studies in a negative way, being a volunteer has actually benefited my academic studies in a couple of ways:
- Time Management - I have learned to balance my different activities and use the time I have much more effectively. Volunteering has helped me develop these time management skills because one has to register for shifts far ahead of time, which means I will have to have a clear idea of how busy my following weeks will be so I could find the perfect time for me to go on shifts. Planning ahead is a great tool I used when planning when to do my university work as well, and I realised I became much better at being able to estimate how much time certain assignments will take me. Therefore, I became better at scheduling my weeks, finishing and submitting assignments on time.
- Team Working - Being a volunteer also meant a lot of collaboration between different GUSH members. Tasks such as preparing the food and drinks and handing them out to the homeless were all done in small groups. However, to be fulfilled effectively, everyone had to be able to work with each other, fulfil their task and ask if any instructions are unclear. These skills were especially helpful for me during my group project at the university and I became much better at understanding group dynamics in general.
Both these skills are very important transferable skills, which I will describe in more detail in section 3. Skills evidence.
Impact on employability
The volunteering experience has helped me develop essential skills for future jobs.
- Self-management - Whether wanting to become a doctor, a teacher, a scientist or anything else, the aim to make the world a better place has always been very important for me. However, that is easier said than done. Such jobs need a lot of commitment and volunteering has given me the great opportunity to learn how to stick to my main goals through managing myself and my time. Spending much of my free time to do something good for other people is a great preparation for any future job which is meant to provide some kind of service to others and therefore it is very beneficial to have learned commitment and self-management during my time as a volunteer.
- Conflict management - While being a volunteer, I had to learn how to deal with and help to solve conflicts (as for example the issue that arose between a homeless person and a friend who was aggressively shouted at by the homeless person for not having answered his queries; see section 3. Skills evidence for more information on my development of conflict management and team working skills). The development of such skills is essential as all career areas require an ability to collaborate with others to achieve common goals and therefore I can say that volunteering has enhanced my employability. There are all types of people out there and it is important not to ignore conflicts, but to deal with them and solve them as best one can. It was of greatest advantage for me to develop these skills during my time as a volunteer, even though the conflict situations might not have been very pleasant experiences at some points.