Ready, Steady, Go!

Sheffield Hallam volunteers are promoting physical education in schools across Sheffield in order to keep children active.

The project “Ready Steady Go”, which involves exploring new ways to teach children physical education as part of the national curriculum, has been running for around four years. Thirteen volunteers aged between 18 – 23 years, who had to undertake a CRB check before working with children in Woolley Wood Primary School and Phillimore Community Primary School, are currently involved in the project.
Hallam volunteering provided training sessions and explored new ideas of different sports before volunteers exercised their skills in schools.


Project leader Lucy Cowgill, 20, who has been involved in the project for two years, said: “I think that this project is really useful as it helps primary teachers to become more confident in teaching an area they may not be confident in.” Activities run by the group include gymnastics, dance, games and fundamentals. “This also gives the students great experience in being able to teach PE lessons, especially if they are interested in doing this as a future career” adds Lucy.

Jacqueline Nieto, PE coordinator at Woolley Wood Primary School said: “The volunteers have been brilliant.” “I think that it has been challenging for them as the children we have suffer with profound learning difficulties.”

Kanye Kanye - by Vickie Crofts

Students of all ages around the Sheffield area have been working hard all year raising money through their social enterprise business ideas to help the community of Lesotho, in Southern Africa, in their battle against HIV/AIDS and poverty.

Students from four local secondary schools across Sheffield joined together with Sheffield Hallam University and Hallam Students' Union, to make Hallam Volunteerings' new project Kanyekanye a success.

Kanykanye has come about after a joint venture between Hallam Volunteering based at Hallam Students' Union and Sheffield Hallam Universities Enterprise Centre. Between all the schools they have raised a total of £2,387 for the Malealea Development Trust. Chaucer Enterprise and Business College raised over £900 and therefore won the trip to visit the beneficiary community in Lesotho. Alongside the winning school team, two Hallam Volunteers will go on the trip. They are Lara Smith, a fourth year International Business and German student, and Andrew Mitchell, also a fourth year Business Studies and Human Resources Management.

(Picture with there trophies) I caught up with the lucky volunteers for a chat:

Right guys, firstly congratulations on winning the winning the trip to Africa, How do you feel about going to Africa?
Lara Smith (LS)- Very excited, quite shocked but really looking forward to visiting the community out there and helping out on some of their projects.
Andrew Mitchell (AM) – I’m absolutely over the moon and shocked. I can't wait to go.

What do you expect form the trip?
LS- I am hoping to learn more about the community there and where the money is going, also to learn more about HIV/AIDS and Southern Africa itself. I also think it will be a good opportunity for the school team to learn more about these things as well.
AM- I expect probably a life changing experience, I think its going open my eyes to what it's like out there from not just the tourist parts but the Malealea community and where the work is focused. It will really sum up what Kanyekanye is about and what the project aims to do.

Highlight of the Project so far?
AM: So far I would probably say working with all the other people, in the business team and one memory I will never forget is stuffing the chocolate bags at Christmas with that wood-wool. Thinking I was going have some sort of asthma attack with all that dust that we created.
LS: I really enjoyed the Kanykanye project and have leaned and developed various skills within the project. We organised various tasks, one of which was a school disco at Christmas. I really enjoyed organising this with the school team and then actually going to the school disco and working together with the girls to make as much money as possible.

What skills have you gained and how will these help you in your future careers?
LS: I have learnt a lot of skills from the project, I think that I’ve definitely improved my communication skills and in an environment working with younger pupils, but also being able to improve my team work skills and delegation skills. Having these skills are very important in looking for a job as they are the key skills involved in every aspect of life.
AM: Business development, selling, marketing, big one is working in a small team.

How do you feel about all the injections that you got to have to have?
Am: Confused! Hopefully have enough without having an overdose to stop me bringing a strange disease back!
LS: I’ve already had a couple and have got a few more coming up. They weren’t too bad but are definitely worth it to go on such an amazing trip.

Should the Project continue?
AM: Yes absolutely, definitely 100 million percent and anyone that doesn't agree should be slapped!! The Project had its highs’ and lows, but what project doesn’t and when you're on a roll you just know you're making money for a good cause, at the same time as having lots of fun.
LS: I know that this is the first year the project had been run and I defiantly think that from a volunteer's point of view that it should be carried on next year and the years to come. It has been very successful in raising awareness and teaching pupils various skills and different enterprise skills, as well as given Hallam Volunteers a chance to develop different skills.

Any think else you both like to say?
AM: Other then I’m really lucky and can’t wait to go roll on Saturday 4th April!!!

Zest - by Lucy Richards

Zest is one of Hallam Volunteering Aim Higher Projects that works in partnership with the Rotherham College of Art and Technology. Volunteers deliver health and wellbeing sessions to the residents of two Sheffcare residential homes.

Aim Higher is a government initiative scheme that encourages young people to think about the benefits and opportunities of higher education. Volunteers are involved in organizing fun and interesting wellbeing sessions. Games are regularly organized, which is a great opportunity for the residents to be brought together for a break way from their usual routine.

Interacticng is also a big part of Zest. The residents benefit from the chance to meet and spend time with younger people and to see some new faces around the home.

Zest project leader is Helen Roberts who is studying Education Studies. She has been a volunteer on Interact before deciding to become a project leader as she ‘wanted a new challenge.’ She felt it would be ‘beneficial to her organizational and leadership skills.’ I asked Helen why she thought others should volunteer, she says “it’s a great chance to meet new people and get involved in new things that you normally wouldn’t do.”

Time Travellers - by Mark Rhodes

History was never a subject I enjoyed when I was at school; I found it boring and tedious, constantly having to listen to my teacher regale the class with facts and dates from times past. However, primary school children from Sheffield are being taught history in a new fun and entertaining way, thanks to Hallam Volunteering's Time Travellers project!
Time Travellers is a Hallam Volunteering project that works with children. The project involves going into primary schools in and around Sheffield teaching the children about history, in particular the Ancient Romans and Ancient Greeks.
The project teaches the children about ancient history with the Time Travellers' timeline, and then sets the children a series of fun challenges and activities to complete in order for them to be able to accurately fill in gaps in the time line.

Richard Owen, who oversees the running of the project, says that the project helps to teach the primary school children about ancient history but in a more fun, interactive way than just sitting in a classroom listening to their teachers and reading from textbooks.

Over the next couple of months, the Time Travellers team will be visiting Lowfield Community Primary School (Friday 13th March), Tinsley Junior School (Friday 27th March) and Springfield Primary School (Wednesday 22nd April and Thursday 30th April.) So it can be seen that there is a busy few months in store for the Time Travellers team. If you have a current CRB check and want to help out by running a history themed activity at any of these events, please contact Celia on c.davis@shu.ac.uk.

Sounds in the City 09 - by Kirsty Brailsford

Once again it’s almost time for the annual Sounds in the City gig and this year promises to be one of the best ever! The team are busy preparing for the evening of music, which will be held in the HUBs on Tuesday 24^th March from 7.00pm. The event will consist of six bands: Drunken Penguins – a three-piece band from Wakefield; Living For Today – who formed in 2007, and who have three other gigs around Sheffield in March; Serpentine; Simple Delivery – who have recently changed their name to Goodnight Anita; Sleepwalker – who describe their music as rock/metal; and The Regulars.

As always, all bands have been recruited from local secondary schools or through Myspace, although, interestingly, there has been little response from female bands/bands with female members this year, so the boys will be dominating the stage!

Sounds in the City is an important event, as it provides young local musicians with the opportunity to showcase their music in front of friends and people from the local community, as well as allowing them to gain valuable on-stage experience.

The team will sell tickets for the live music event for £1 each, the proceeds of which will be re-invested in Hallam Volunteering.

The Pieces Come Together - by Vickie Crofts

Sadly as the academic year draws to a close so do all our Projects. For Jigsaw, this means picking up the pieces of their year-long activities, and preparing for their annual Fun Day."

The Fun Day this year will be held on Saturday 25th April and will be a celebration of the past year for volunteers and all those involved, as the Befriendee and their family all come together in a fun-packed activity day.

On a week by week basis, the project provides a befriending service to children aged between five and 18 who have been diagnosed with autism or Asperser’s Syndrome.

The level of support provided by the 13 Volunteers varies according to the needs of the befriendee, as joined project leader Sarah McGillivray explains: "Some children simply gain more confidence from having someone new to interact with. Others may find it's nice to have someone they can talk to and who will listen."

One of the appeals of the project for Sarah is: "Just spending time with my befriendee. She's so much fun to be with and it makes a nice break from all the stresses of third year to just go and be able to relax and have a bit of a laugh."

Extra volunteers are needed to help out at the Fun Day on Saturday 25th April, from 12-5pm. If you are interesting, and are CRB checked via Hallam Union, and have had some autism training, then please get in touch with Sarah on Sarah.L.McGillivray@student.shu.ac.uk

Interact - by Liz Sloan

Interact’s second workshop was packed with fun games and giggling when I went to visit them down at the HUBS on a chilly February evening. Interact is a project that works with young adults with Asperger's Syndrome.

Their first workshop was held earlier in January which was a buddying session where the volunteers and young adults were partnered together so they could get to know each other.

Kerry Newcombe, Interact's Project Leader, said: “The first session went really well and everybody enjoyed themselves.” The second session focused on building up confidence by playing lots of games to start and then ending with a Puppet Show which was designed to engage the participants in storytelling. There will be a third workshop in April where the young adults will create a story book that they will then perform in a small theatre production in the final workshop at the end of April.

One of the games that was played in the opening session was Shapes. This included both young adults and volunteers working together to form various shapes. There were some very interesting ideas for example London Bridge and some original collaborations for creating a Toblerone.

One of the things that made me realise the great work that the volunteers of Interact are doing was when one of the participants decided to allow us to photograph her during the workshop although she rarely allows anyone to photograph her. Kerry said “I feel so happy when I see the participants’ progress with their communication and social skills. They really seem to be comfortable working with us.”

The group are looking forward to the next workshops where participants will develop a performance piece together. To celebrate Interact's last workshop of 2009, volunteers will take the participants out for a meal with money fundraised by the team.

Hallam Challenges - by K. Gilbert & S. Woolley

Making a real difference in Sheffield has never been easier! Hallam Challenges is a project that plans one-day events where both students and staff can get involved to help out in the local community.
One of the latest successes for Hallam Challenges was the Christmas Decorations Creation Day which was held on Level 2 of the Owen Building, City Campus.
Over 50 students dropped by to lend a hand and make a decoration for the elderly. Later the decorations were taken out to residential homes around Sheffield where even the residents helped make some more, whilst enjoying a few mince pies after decorating the rooms.
Project leader Ellie Lane was very pleased with the high level of enthusiasm and commitment from her team and is aiming to bring even more people together for a positive impact at their next event.
The next Hallam Challenge is going to be on Saturday 28th March, 11am till 1pm at Creswick Children's Centre. The team need volunteers to come and help plant primroses as the centre are having a total refurbishment and changing their name to Primrose Children's Centre. If you would like to come and help please email hallamchallenges@hotmail.co.uk and let us know you are coming!
If you'd like to know more on Hallam Challenges or for information on how to get involved, drop by the Hubs and speak to Emily Burns onE.burns@shu.ac.uk. Also Ellie would like to give a shout out and personal thank you to Emily, who has been her rock!

Football Unites! - by Mark Copping

Bobby Charlton, David Beckham, Alan Shearer: all great ambassadors of the beautiful game. Now added to that list is the work of the 'Football Unites' team. The work of the project is implied in the title - meeting up with refugees and asylum seekers in the Sheffield area and using football to unite their different communities. Students and refugees work together in promoting communication, support and an understanding and at the end of it all, friendly rivalries are made in the big football tournament happening on the 25th April, where both students and refugees play in mixed teams for the trophy. Project leader Lee Dunne describes it as a place 'to have a good chat, and make some new friends' and of course, its all for a worthy cause, that’s 1-0 to Hallam Volunteering!

Fit Club - by Mark Rhodes

Every Wednesday afternoon, several members from the Fit Club project go to the Guildford Grange Residential Home to work with the elderly residents and give them a weekly activity and exercise session that aims to help increase fitness and mobility.
The activities vary each week, and range from walks around beauty spots within Sheffield to playing fun games such as bowling & skittles. Rosie Wynne and Kim Horspool, joint project leaders of Fit Club, say that the project helps to: "Increase fitness, mobility and flexibility of the residents by running interactive, fun sessions for the residents." A favourite activity amongst the elderly residents is using a parachute; this was a personal favourite of mine when doing PE at Primary school, so I wasn't at all surprised to learn that the residents of Guildford Grange Residential home enjoy it too.
The project leaders also added that the Fit Club project gives students that are studying physiotherapy a fantastic opportunity to gain experience, as well as have fun interacting with the residents.

Some of the activities lined up for the residents in the coming weeks include parachute games and taking the residents for a walk around the picturesque Botanical Gardens, which I am sure they will enjoy.

Educ8 - by Liz Sloan

Educ8 is a one of Hallam Volunteering's five new projects this year. The project focuses on empowering children to make informed decisions by giving them the opportunity to learn about substances such as tobacco, alcohol and solvents in a safe environment.

Stefanie Chadburn, Educ8’s Project Leader said “I firmly believe that Educ8 is a great project which tackles a subject area which needs to be addressed in schools and I know my excellent team of volunteers are going to tackle it brilliantly”.

Educ8 has partnered with SHED, which is a local organisation offering support to young people in Sheffield in relation to substance misuse. SHED has provided an eight week training programme to six of the student volunteers to give them the confidence in delivering advice to school children in year six.

Altogether there are five one hour sessions that began on the 26th February and will run up until March. The sessions are flexible and fun, incorporating games and quizzes to encourage the children to learn. One of the activities that will take place towards the end of the project will be “the big drugs quiz.”

This will test the children to see what they have learnt over 5 weeks. All of the activities are kept simple and enjoyable but require skilful handling by the volunteers as the topic of drugs can be a difficult and complex one to explore and talk about.

The children are offered helpful information and guidance in an area that is sometimes ignored in today’s society and with children becoming more exposed to the danger of drugs and alcohol it makes a great difference when projects such as EDUC8 are there to make sure they have the correct information . As Stefanie says “They then have the confidence in themselves to say no and make informed decisions based around fact and not fiction.”

Smiling like a Cheshire Cat – by Rik Measures

On their return from the winter holidays, the volunteers of the Cheshire Cats project hit the ground running with a string of fun-filled sessions held for the residents of Leonard Cheshire Homes in Totley.

The Hallam Volunteers, led by project leaders Gemma Fisher and Sophie Green, cram their weekly visits with creative art and craft activities which engage and entertain the residents.

The activities range from making colourful band instruments out of cereal boxes, to cookery, and offer the residents a great opportunity to vary their daily routine which, due to their circumstances, is often restricted.

The residents, all of whom are adults with varying degrees of learning and physical disabilities, draw a huge amount of pleasure from the visiting volunteers and the activities they bring with them – this much is obvious from all their smiles and laughter throughout the sessions. The interaction between the residents and the volunteers is a great one to see. It’s clear they enjoy one another’s company, and it’s even clearer that all the hard work the volunteers put into fundraising and organising the project, not to mention actually running the sessions, is extremely beneficial to the residents.

“Putting a smile on someone else’s face is brilliant,” says Gemma “When we go to the home we feel happy knowing that we’re giving something back. Being a member of Cheshire Cats is an excellent experience and a valuable insight into the lives of those who suffer from disabilities.”

The care home is part of a wider network called Leonard Cheshire Disability whose larger purpose is to change attitudes towards disability, as well as to provide services in support of disabled people. The contribution Cheshire Cats is making to achieve this goal is not only impressive, but is also a great example of what Hallam Volunteering is capable of.

Keep up the great work everyone!

Commitee Elections 2009/2010

The Hallam Volunteering Standing Committee Elections for 2009-2010 are fast approaching and now is the time to think about running. Being a part of the Hallam Volunteering Committee is a great opportunity to influence Hallam Volunteering as a department and to represent volunteers. You will develop new skills and improve your career prospects.
For more information or to nominate yourself, download the nomination form and the Committee information pack from blackboard (select "elections" from the button down on the left side of the page) or our website (http://hallamunion.org/volunteering/committee-elections/).

• Positions available are:
• Publicity Officer
• Fundraising Officer
• Events & Technical Officer
• Communications & Socials Officer
• Equal Opportunities Officer
• Showcase Officer
• 1 Working with Children Project Representative
• 1 Working with Young People Project Representative
• 1 Working with Adults Project Representative

Feel Free to ask any current Officer or Rep about the role, all will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Nominations are open from 9am on Tuesday 3rd March until midnight on Wednesday 11th March. Any volunteer can nominate themself.

Look out for voting from 13th-22nd March!