Hallam Volunteering Publicity

Become a project leader!

2010-05-05T13:22:00.001-07:00

By Francine Gleadall

Does the thought of being a Project leader and leading a group of volunteers daunt you? Maybe you think you’re incapable of handling such a large responsibility? Do you think you couldn’t rise to the challenge? These were certainly my initial thoughts and doubts before I gained the courage and found self belief to take on the role of project leader; what an amazing experience it turned out to be!

The Hallam Volunteering project I led was ‘Fit Club’ which consisted of a group of 17 eager and enthusiastic volunteers. Throughout February and March, we introduced a programme of low impact exercises and games into two elderly residential homes in the South Yorkshire area, Guildford Grange and Bowfield Court. It was my duty to manage and co-ordinate my volunteers whilst overseeing that the project ran smoothly over the numerous weeks. I also had the demand of making sure that the deliveries of the sessions were safe and professional whilst making them fun and exciting for the residents.

It sounds like a demanding task doesn’t it? I must admit at times filling the shoes of project leader was tough. However, when retrospectively evaluating my position and the project as a whole, I was so pleased that I gained the confidence to grasp the leadership role, as the personal benefits and outcomes achieved from the project were certainly worth the sweat and hard work.

So, what were the advantages I achieved???

It gave me a chance to develop a wide variety of skills in leadership and communication, to interpersonal and team working skills; all are essential transferable qualities that employees search for when selecting candidates for job roles.

Another advantage was that I stood out as a volunteer. Any type of volunteering is fantastic, however if you can demonstrate that you have taken on the extra commitment to lead a project, I believe can indicate to future employers that from a relatively young age you have gained experience in higher managerial positions of work, helping you to climb up the career ladder quicker.
By being part of Hallam Volunteering I gained the chance to apply for the prestigious Hallam Award. The award has been devised by the Hallam Union and can be awarded to anyone who is involved in student union activities. This award is to signify the hard work that you have dedicated to Hallam volunteering. Remember, this type of award will make your CV excel from the rest!

The project leader position also enables you to gain the chance of winning the Hallam volunteering ‘Volunteer of the Year’ award, an award aimed specifically at project leaders. Luckily, I was awarded 2^nd place this year, I really felt that this award acknowledge my loyalty towards the project and my enthusiasm in making it successful.
One of the most rewarding outcomes was that the project leader role gave me a chance to give something back to my local community; it is such a great feeling to know that you are helping others and improving their lives. Without the project leader position this service may not have been able to run inside the homes, as it is essential that someone is always monitoring the project.
I was also given the opportunity to participate in training classes funded by Hallam Volunteering. The training I embraced was ‘Working with older people’ as this was relevant to the project I was working on. I found it extremely beneficial as I became aware of what to expect before entering into the homes.
The role of project leader also gave me a chance to network and meet many useful contacts. These contacts ranged from members of Sheffield council, to important University employees and the Lord Mayor of Sheffield. Remember, sometimes it can be a case of not what you know, but who you know when searching for jobs.
Finally, no matter how much you love your degree, we all know that at times you need a break from the workload and study. The project leader position gives you a refreshing and stimulating experience away from academic learning. However, at the same time the role of a project leader can benefit your degree. From having to be organised and developing effective time planning skills, I feel that this has helped with my organisation in other areas of my course.

For those of you who like the sound of being a project leader and feel that you too would like to gain these fantastic advantages. Then push any of those straying doubts aside which may be stopping you from fulfilling this role and get in contact with Hallam Volunteering on 01142 255 005 or e-mail them at hallamvolunteering@shu.ac.uk. Go on; make a change not only to your life, but also to those around you. Become a project leader and lead in 2010/2011!

Hallam students point the way - by Mark Copping

2010-03-04T03:41:00.000-08:00

Students from Sheffield Hallam University have been working to draw attention to the distinctive and hidden aspects of the Sharrow area.

The project has been run by Hallam Volunteering and local community architect Julia Udall. Thanks to funding from Hallam University's Faculty of Development and Society, students studying in the fields of Architecture and Urban Planning have created a set of signposts with an artistic difference to brighten up Sharrow.

Signposts have been designed, painted and constructed by students with the aim of creating an art trail to advertise all that Sharrow has to offer. This includes places of interest, which are perhaps unrecognised by people unfamiliar with the area, such as the Portland Works - once working as the backbone of Sheffield's steel industry and is now unfortunately under threat of closure as has been reported upon before in Sharrow Today.

Members of the Distinctive Sharrow Action Group have also been supporting and assisting the project. The group has been actively taking an interest in the built environment in Sharrow for a few years, running a number of projects that aims to empower local people to be able to change their environment or how it is perceived. Volunteers from the group have been showing students around the area and contributed in putting the signs together.

The success of the projects means that the signs should soon be seen out and about around Sharrow. Plans have also already been made for another joint Hallam Volunteering and Distinctive Sharrow project, so watch this space! Anyone interested in becoming involved with the scheme can contact Sarah Mcgillivray file:///C:/Webcache/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.IE5/HHP5Q4IF/uussm3@exchange.shu.ac.uk

Reeling Ahead with Longley Park! by Ashleigh Withall-Prince

2010-03-04T03:39:00.000-08:00

The ‘Showreel’ project is in full flow working alongside local college students to produce a film, highlighting all that’s brilliant about Hallam Volunteering, and the achievements of the volunteers and local college students. It has offered a fantastic opportunity to develop film – making and editing skills to the team and students to produce a high quality film due to be premiered at a celebratory evening for volunteering, ‘The Event’ on March 24th.
Hallam volunteers are currently working with Longley Park Sixth Form students. The students from the college have all got some previous media experience, and are having a great time, building on their skills and forming a rapport with the volunteers.

Project Leader Matthew Voyse, who was once a student at Longley Park said: “We have a positive environment when filming and we try to make sure we have fun. The students are easy to work with, because they all do media, so they pretty much know what they are doing. They are really enthusiastic about working on the project.”

Shooting for the film began on 10th February, and is set to continue at least once a week, possibly more, in the weeks leading up to The Event. Initially, Showreel had 8 spots available for the students however, due to popular demand they have taken on 12, and it’s easy to understand why the project is so popular. You could say the sessions have bee somewhat of a ‘sell-out’!

The concept of the filming is based loosely in the style of TV programmes. The filming for the volunteer project ‘Season It’ was done in the style of Gordon Ramsey’s ‘F Word’. One of the students was pretending to cook like Gordon whilst conducting interviews, although they had to restrain from Gordon’s infamous swearing and fiery temper!

Matthew is extremely happy with the progression of the project at present, he said: “Luckily everything is running smoothly so far, I have a bunch of enthusiastic students and a great bunch of volunteers, which is all a project leader could ask for.” Well done to the Showreel team, we cannot wait to see this blockbuster!!

'Nothing Beats Word Of Mouth' by Dean Robinson

2010-03-04T03:38:00.000-08:00

Despite February 16th being an extremely cold evening in our little town of Sheffield, it didn’t stop those making their way to the hubs for the third ‘Language Exchange’ event. The word certainly seemed to have spread making the first episode of 2010 be one of the biggest turn outs since it began at the beginning of the academic year. The Hubs seemed as lively as ever attracting a mix of both students and older people and it was also nice to see that. Again, there were plenty of worldly delicacies on offer to taste.

If you’ve never been before or not heard about this event then the Language Exchange programme has been put together by the people of Hallam Volunteering and by those of Language in Sheffield. They have created a great way to allow people of all ages and backgrounds to get together and share their different language skills.

There are about 15 to 20 tables set up with a variation of different languages from all over the world for example; Spanish, German, French, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Nigerian, Arabic, Swedish... the list is endless. Each table then had a representative that was fluent in both the selected language and English; some tables even had few traditional language games to add to the festivities.

If you fancy joining in with a Language Exchange Extravaganza then pop down to the A pod of the Hubs on the following dates:

Tuesday, March 9th 6pm-8pm

Tuesday, April 27th 6pm-8pm

It certainly is a great relaxed way to share and develop any language skills you may have or even to learn some new ones.

"We are Gold!" by Martha Brown

2010-03-04T03:35:00.001-08:00

Day after day volunteers throughout Hallam union work tirelessly for their projects. So, every year to recognise this dedication the union present four volunteers with the Gold Awards.
These are recognised achievements with volunteering England and have been honoured for a very long time. They are the only student awards of its kind that acknowledge qualities in further and higher education in relation to volunteering.

There are three categories associated with the awards; leadership, dedication and achievement. Anyone can nominate, project leaders and group members can vote for one another.
Once the votes have been cast a panel of judges will decide who they believe should be given the awards. On the panel this year is Laura Stafford, the Hallam Volunteering manager, Alison McHale who works in the University with Work Based Learning and a trustee elected by the students.

The awards will be handed out on Thursday 22nd April at the end of year party, where internal awards will also honoured.

Voting opens at the beginning of March, so if you have a perfect candidate in mind someone who you think deserves to be recognised for their contribution to volunteering, or if they have been exceptionally dedicated or if they have shown outstanding leadership skills, don’t hesitate, Vote! And Let them receive the exceptional gold award.

Smash It! - Hallam Volunteering

2010-01-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

This year the Hallam Volunteering fundraiser was a little different. Usually a wobble down West Street in the style of a three legged race, the cry went up for a change and Smash It! was born.

On Monday 7^th December 2009, Hallam Volunteers gathered in The Scholar on London Road and made history. Well, maybe not history, but they certainly broke some interesting HV records.

All the games were monitored by the friendly fundraising team dressed as leprechauns-complete with top hats. These were to be our guides for the evening and also the judges to check that no one was sneakily trying to cheat!

First, came ‘Pass It’, a game some of you may have played before which involves passing a playing card from one player to another using only the mouth. This game has all the ingredients for a laugh-out-loud event which, unfortunately, didn’t help when trying to pass the card.

‘Taboo It’ was next on the agenda, which was a large recreation of the traditional game. One person tried to get you to guess a word without using certain ‘taboo’ words stated on the card and the object of the game was to guess as many as possible in the time provided.

Then there was ‘Shake It’; how many handshakes can you do in one minute? A line was formed and we sought to figure out the answer to just that. The lucky person at the front of the queue had to shake everyone’s hand quickly before moving on to the next.

‘Sock It’ was a game to see how many socks could be placed on one foot in a minute. ‘Make It’ was a really fun game where teams were given a random selection of objects and asked to make something surrounding a specific theme. This year’s theme, as it is December, was Christmas!

‘Flaunt It’ was the final challenge for the volunteers to strut their stuff and pose in their fancy dress costumes. There were mimes, pyjamas, footballers ,walking newspapers and famous book characters posing and prancing all over the room.

At the end of the day one winner had to be announced and that

winner was the Blue Team. However, everyone who took part contributed towards the ultimate goal; we all got sponsored and raised some money for Hallam Volunteering. Special congratulations to Emma James and the Fundraising team for the success of the evening!

Language Exchange - by Mark Copping

2010-01-25T09:06:00.002-08:00

My experience of learning a foreign language hasn't been good up to this point. I'm still quite traumatized by old French teachers at school, barking at me for the correct pronunciation. Not to mention my German teacher, who wouldn't let you go to the toilet unless you asked her in German (Kann ich zur Toilette bitte gehen?). So when I was asked to go along to the second 'Language Exchange' event of the academic year, I was a little sceptical.

The event, which is ran entirely by volunteers, gathers international and multi-lingual members of the Sheffield community for a social evening in the Hubs. As someone who can't speak any foreign languages I thought that I would be lost in translation going to this event. However, what I found was a welcoming environment where I met a wide variety of people from different backgrounds and cultures. The event is designed for those who love language to either brush up their language skills or learn a whole new language. It’s a kind of ‘swap shop’ for languages so to speak.

It's a very direct and social way of learning simply by talking to people who speak a different language. You're given the perfect opportunity to ask questions about something you want to learn and if you're already fluent you can just have a general chit chat in another language.

If you’re interested in foreign languages it’s definitely the event for you, if travel broadens the mind then so does meeting people from all around the world.

The Hubs as Santa's Grotto!

2010-01-25T09:06:00.001-08:00

Hallam Volunteering’s Children’s Christmas Party got underway on the 14^th December with great success. The upstairs pods were transformed into a twinkling Christmas grotto, full of activity and smiling faces. It is hard to believe how a few decorations transformed a night time hotspot into a festive haven for select schoolchildren from the Sheffield area. The bedazzled stairway resembled a gateway to a mythical wonderland that led the children to an evening full of fun, frolicks and food.

The evening began with a quick bite to eat, as all fun-filled evenings should, and then it didn’t take long until the kids were tearing around the pods, making the most of all the fun activities the Volunteering team had laid out for them. Everything was so organised that it was difficult not to feel like a spare-part but I was definitely starting to get the Christmas bug watching the kids split up for their different activities. From the piped-in Christmas music to the twinkling fairy-lights, it would have been enough to melt even Scrooge’s icy heart.

In each pod there were a number of different activities to occupy the children; face-painting, letter-writing, cookie-dressing, pin-the-nose-on-Rudolph, pin-the-bauble-on-the-Christmas-tree, and Santa’s grotto were some of the more sobering activities, but the one that got the excitement flowing had to be the bouncy castle. Against the backdrop of a private screening of Santa Claus: the Movie, this had to be the favourite of the night. After all, bouncy castles are perfect for letting off all that steam after a long day at school.

There was even something for the accompanying toddlers, in the shape of an inflatable ball pool. When they weren’t pottering about the pods on newly-found feet, they were having a whale of a time wading about in the ball pool while the grown-ups looked on with a relaxing cup of coffee close at hand. The Christmas Party definitely had everyone in mind, and not just the visitors. Volunteering Executive, Kate Healey was more than happy to throw herself into the fun and games in her fluffy red hat with blonde woolly pigtails.

Overall it was a lovely experience that the children seemed to thoroughly enjoy, and it was difficult not to keep a smile on your face when seeing them so happy. Job done I’d say! Congratulations to Ellie Greening, Emily Wood and the fantastic Children’s Christmas Party team! You should all be extremely proud of yourselves!

D and S Projects

2010-01-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

This year Hallam Volunteering is teaming up with the faculty of Development and Society to offer students a new and unique volunteering opportunity. The one off days will be aimed at encouraging students who do not normally volunteer with us to get involved!

The faculty are investing in Hallam Volunteering and this will enable students to increase their skills base by offering unique and tailored volunteering opportunities on their doorstep, in their neighbourhood such as the Peaks! The investment from the faculty has increased the flexibility and appeal of Hallam Volunteering to more students.

Peak District Conservation (Feb 2010)

At the Peak Park Conservation Volunteers (PPCV), there is no age and experience limit - anyone is welcome to take part in conservation projects within the Peak District National Park.

Volunteers will take part in a wide variety of activities that are normally performed by the National Park's staff, local professionals or outside contractors - giving students real experience. The activities will include:

Footpath construction and repair;

Stile, step and footbridge building;

Fencing, walling, hedge laying and tree planting;

Nature reserve management and habitat protection;

Erosion control, drainage and pond clearance.

This project can offer you the opportunity to experience the environment first hand. The aim of Hallam Volunteering is to provide students with a placement based project, which may be more appealing and more applicable to Built Environment students.

Come and lend a hand to Hallam Volunteering!

Distinctive Sharrow Project (February and March 2010)

The 'Distinctive Sharrow' project is an innovative new opportunity for students to focus on the perceptions and utilisations of space. It aims to help you and others alter spaces and places in Sharrow on a small or large scale by influencing development projects.

The first event will aim to look at the empty shops on London Road and investigate what can be done with the empty space. The second will be an art trail to alter people's perceptions of this area as a pedestrian. These projects look set to be popular and lend themselves to those studying Surveying or Architecture based degrees.

ACES projects

Lantern Carnival (March 2010)

This coming March there is a fantastic opportunity to take part in the Sharrow Lantern Carnival. On 13th, 20th and 27th March volunteers can work with local art facilitators and the local community in workshops to produce handmade lanterns. These lanterns will then form part of a procession in April through the streets of Netheredge/Sharrow, ending in a big celebration in Mount Pleasant Park. This project would ideally suit students on courses in the ACES faculty such as Contemporary Art, Creative Art Practices, Contemporary Fine Art and Contemporary Media Art giving these students a great chance to illuminate you individual creativity!

How can you benefit?

Looks great on the CV as the evidence of getting extra skills;

Fun and useful experience for those studying relevant degrees.

Deck The Hubs for 120 Children! by Tanya Masih

2010-01-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

WOW! Did you know the Hubs will be transformed into a magical Christmas wonderland for 120 children on the 14th December from 4-7pm.

It will be a fun-filled evening of activities including a bouncy castle, ball pit, Santa’s grotto, face painting, letters to Santa and Christmas games, such as 'Pin-The-Nose on Rudolph' and 'Pass the Parcel. The children can even make a big Christmas tree, which they can take home and show off to their parents! There will also be bauble and biscuit decorating, a Christmas themed colouring competition, delicious food and a disco. Christmas starts here at the Hubs!

The team have raised funds for this event by bag packing at Morrisons in Hillsborough on Sunday 29th November. This proved highly successful with the final total reaching £264.69.

As well as a great evening for all ages, it is also very beneficial as the kids get the opportunity to meet children from other schools, and not forgetting that much appreciated time off for parents and guardians to go and do that extra Christmas shopping before Santa arrives!

“The benefit the event has to the children is to give them the opportunity to come and have lots of fun at a party, which they usually wouldn’t have time to do as the time and space is often not available to the schools where they come from, as many are from socially deprived areas of Sheffield,” said Project Leader, Ellie Greening.

Although past Christmas parties have been very successful it looks like this year is set to be a Christmas cracker with activities going on in every Pod, so there’s no waiting around and wondering what to do! Keep up the good work elf volunteers, and let’s make it a party the children won’t forget!

Come and send Santa your Christmas list!

Interview With Kate Healey - by Jayne Roberts and Jenny Watkinson

2010-01-25T08:58:00.000-08:00

It's All About Kate Healey!

In her final year studying Marketing, Kate Healey is taking on the role as Volunteering Officer. Kate has the responsibility this year to work on revitalisation and improvements. We went to meet her and ask all about her new position in Hallam Volunteering...

What initially made you join Hallam Volunteering?

"I knew I wanted to join a club, but I'm not a sporty type so I joined the Publicity Team, and after three years as a volunteer I haven't looked back!"

What are the three main things you get out of being a Hallam Volunteer?

“Fun, friendship and skills!”

Describe your duties this year as the new Officer?

"My first task as Officer was the recruitment of new volunteers, which was successful due to the record numbers of applications. I also need to build up the recognition and publicity of Hallam Volunteering making sure it is seen a positive light"

Are you excited about the new projects on offer this year?

"I am especially excited about the 'Magic Numbers', as this is the only maths based project. Due to the media's focus on Sheffield's numeracy levels it will be very beneficial, and hopefully Hallam Volunteering can help improve this."

Finally, we asked Kate what her advice would be to other volunteers…

“Get involved and have fun!”

Welcome to eVOLve!

2010-01-25T08:56:00.002-08:00

Welcome to eVOLve! This is our new look magazine to give everyone access to the latest stories from Hallam Volunteering!

It is going to be a fantastic year for Hallam Volunteering seeing the arrival of new projects, new volunteers and new Committee members to match! I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for all their hard work so far getting the projects up and running. I would also like to wish you all good luck for the rest of the year!

Enjoy!

Amy x

Amy Louise Moore, Publicity Officer

Editorial Team

Publicity Officer

Amy Louise Moore

Editors

Sam Wilson

Jayne Winn

Adam Reaney

Laura Smith

Ashleigh Withall-Prince

Contributors

Mark Copping

Jayne Roberts

Martha Brown

Rachna Kotecha

Tanya Masih

Jenny Pead

Yu Chin Wong

Jenny Watkinson

Dean Robinson

Hallam Challenges: Go Further! by Jayne Winn

2010-01-25T08:56:00.001-08:00

'Hallam Challenges' has been running for a number of years but this year they have decided to reinvent the Challenges into exciting, quality volunteering events. To make sure a variety of students can get involved, 'Hallam Challenges' aims to create Challenges revolving around courses which have not been accommodated in the past.

However, anyone can get involved- from international students, to people who cannot commit lots of time to a full project. There has been such a high demand for Hallam Volunteering this year that not everyone who applied was able to have the opportunity to take part. Now, thanks to Hallam Challenges they are being given that chance- just in a different form!

Volunteers are invited to donate whatever time they can, whether it is ten minutes or the full day - it's the taking part that counts.

The first challenge of the year has gone all festive with 'Reindeer Food'. Taking place in Santa's grotto at the hubs, the little helpers from Hallam Volunteering made tiny parcels of reindeer food to give Ruldolph and Co. the energy to deliver presents on Christmas Eve.

The Hallam volunteers really got in the spirit, dressing up in Christmas attire and handing out candy canes and other Christmas treats with proceeds going to the wonderful, local children’s cancer charity, 'Amy’s Retreat'.

Gabrielle from 'Amy’s Retreat' introduces both ‘Reindeer Food’ and the charity to us: “'Amy’s Retreat' is a Sheffield charity helping families who have children with cancer. The charity was set up by Joanne and Steve Hall in memory of their daughter Amy who died of cancer when aged 5.

“One of our main activities is arranging breaks at Center Parcs for families who have children undergoing treatment for cancer at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. We know that these holidays make a big difference to the families, enabling them to spend much needed time together away from the hospital routine and to enjoy brief respite from the difficulties the family faces. We also have a project to build a holiday home for families, to be located near to Sheffield.

The Reindeer Food project is a very important part of 'Amy’s Retreat'. Between October and Christmas with the help of volunteers, we make beautiful little organza parcels, containing oats, glitter (and magic!), which retail for £1. The parcels are for children to sprinkle outside on Christmas Eve, so that Father Christmas knows who to visit. The parcels are very popular with families as you can imagine, and the project is a valuable source of income for us as well as excellent for promoting the charity.”

So remember to look out for the pink and black posters next semester and find out what your next challenge will be about!

'Language Exchange' In The Hubs - by Dean Robinson

2010-01-25T08:55:00.001-08:00

Tuesday 10^th November saw the return of the immensely popular and exciting ‘Language Exchange’ event at The Hubs.

Now, what is this event all about? The programme has been put together by ‘Hallam Volunteering’ and ‘Languages Sheffield’ in order to allow people over the age of 18 from different backgrounds to get together and share their different language skills. There were between 15 to 20 tables set up with a variation of different languages from all over the world, for example; Spanish, German, French, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Nigerian, Arabic and Swedish. Each table had a representative that was fluent in the selected language and English. Some tables even had few traditional language games to add to the festivities.

For a first event of the year, it was pleasantly surprising to see that it was so popular with around 80-100 people filling the A pod of The Hubs. Julia Fitzgerald, Volunteer Co-ordinator for the project said:

“The Language Exchange evenings are a celebration of language and culture, providing an opportunity for individuals to speak their native language or learn a new one, all while meeting new people in a fun and relaxed environment.”

Food and drink was also provided which acted as a bit of an icebreaker, allowing people to relax, socialise and pick up a few tasty treats on the way. Whether your foreign language skills go as far as knowing how to say hello (like me) or whether you are fluent in the language, I would definitely recommend going along to one of these events.

If you’re interested in finding out a little more, you can contact Julia Fitzgerald (Hallam Volunteer Co-ordinator) either by email or by phone : j.fitzgerald@shu.ac.uk | t. 0114 225 5002. Don’t worry if you missed the latest Language Exchange, there’s one on monthly (with the exception of January).

Here is the list of the next few meetings:

- Tuesday, December 15^th 6pm–8pm

- Tuesday, February 16^th6pm-8pm

- Tuesday, March 9^th6pm- 8pm

- Tuesday, April 27^th 6pm – 8pm

New Projects Hit The Ground Running - by Mark Copping, Rachna Kotecha and Jenny Pead

2010-01-25T08:53:00.000-08:00

S7-Food Heaven!

Based in Sharrow, (S7) area of Sheffield. Hallam Volunteers aim to promote healthy eating via a range of practical food-based activities, such as growing vegetables, planning a nutritious diet and cooking.

A team of twelve volunteers will be running weekly after school clubs for 8 to 13 year olds at Abbeydale Primary School and St. Peters Community Centre, providing an opportunity to learn new recipes and put these into practice with fun, hands-on cooking and craft sessions.

To get the ball rolling, students have been fundraising with exciting and informative games, to help support the project. Project Leader, Reanne Taylor comments:

“Healthy eating is not hugely publicised but if it was, we would be amazed at how poor diets can dramatically affect our bodies. Therefore, to put forth 'S7-Food Heaven!' is a privilege, as we are trying to benefit the whole of the S7 community in their healthy lifestyles. Hopefully from there it will alert more communities, specifically the children.”

Magic Numbers

This new project aims to make maths fun! Led by Project Leader, Lindsey Bowkett, a team of twelve volunteers are running workshops around various local schools, in order to teach Maths in a new, magical way.

Children in years 2 and 3 will be attending 'Magic School', engaging in creative maths activities such as finding missing numbers to stop the evil ‘Number Snatcher’. Having achieved this, they will receive a certificate and become fully-fledged ‘Maths Wizards’.

Government research shows that numeracy levels are low, specifically in South Yorkshire. This project is designed to alter this and encourage children to enjoy Maths. It is also beneficial to Hallam students, who have the opportunity to volunteer and gain teaching experience, enhancing their future career prospects.

The team have organised a raffle on the 10^th December to fundraise for the project, and welcome your support in this great scheme.

Volunteering Residential Weekend - by Jenny Pead and Martha Brown

2010-01-25T08:51:00.000-08:00

Every October for the last seven years, Project Leaders and Committee members from Hallam Volunteering have packed their bags and gone on a residential weekend all in the name of the cause. This year seven members of staff and 38 Project Leaders took off to Buxton for a fun filled team-building weekend.

Lasting from Friday to Sunday, the residential trip is said to be 'one of the perks' of being part of Hallam Volunteering. Activities available to the daring group included archery, climbing, low ropes & problem solving, all with the aim of getting a better understanding of the projects that they are leading, and developing skills needed to fulfil their roles successfully. The intention was to have every project represented on the weekend to enable the leaders to interact and get to know each other, as well as allowing them to get an understanding about all the new projects and the teams that run them.

The activities in Buxton all contribute to the teams carrying out their invaluable work in Sheffield communities.

So if you fancy going on this fully-funded, fun-packed weekend, then why not consider applying to be a representative with Hallam Volunteering next year?

Volunteering Welcome Party 09/10 by Jayne Roberts

2010-01-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

Well, what better way to start the year with Hallam Volunteering than at The Welcome Party! The party was a great success with over 100 volunteers attending and a warm welcome given to the new Committee members. The Committee performed a well rehearsed dance routine to ‘High School Musical’s 'We’re all in this together' which succeeded in lightening the mood.

Liz Credgington - Socials and Communications Officer and organiser of the party said: “It was more successful than last year because there was more interaction between the volunteers.” This was definitely due to the fun game of human bingo encouraging people to mingle with people from other projects.

The new Fundraising Officer Emma James was in her first day of post, and her Fundraising Team were very successful in raising £109 from the raffle for the Small Grants Fund and managed to get lots of local businesses to donate prizes. This was a great start to the year!

The Welcome Party didn’t stop there either! Around 25 volunteers then went down to Bar Phoenix to continue the party!

The photos from the night should be uploaded on to the Facebook group 'Hallam Volunteering 09/10' shortly.

Ready, Steady, Go!

2009-03-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-23T13:23:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-19T04:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T04:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T03:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T03:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T03:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T03:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T03:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T03:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T03:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T03:30:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-03T02:41:00.000-08:00

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!

Equal Opportunities

2009-02-18T04:40:00.000-08:00

By Jonathon Blott

Equal Opportunities is a fantastic team within Hallam Volunteering whose main goal is to make sure that everyone is represented in the University’s voluntary schemes in some way.
They organised a tea party to raise awareness of Hallam Volunteering and give everyone a chance to take part in what Hallam Volunteering has to offer. The party provided students with a second chance for people to get involved, particularly those who may not yet have heard of all of Hallam Volunteering. The main groups of people targeted for recruitment at the event were mature students, international students, and students with disabilities. These particular groups of students are currently considered under-represented within Hallam Volunteering.

The Equal Opportunities team hopes to open up new doors to volunteering, which not only helps the community but also drastically enhances your CV, strengthening your chances of that all-important keyword, ‘employability’. Underrepresented groups like mature students are quite often considered a great asset to voluntary programs for their own personal experience that they bring to the group.
Hallam Volunteering’s Equal Opportunities Officer Ria Stevens said “More publicity is needed for the projects to spark a keen interest in volunteering. But with student support now an active part of the team, that is exactly what we hope to achieve.”

There was a friendly turn-out of eager students, and more importantly students that Hallam Volunteering were looking for. All in all, the party was a success, with a plenty of new students signing up for projects, particularly from target groups. If you missed the party or would just like more information on the projects, Equal Opportunities are holding another event on February 26th 4-5.30pm upstairs in the HUBS, and you can contact Hallam Volunteering on 2255005, hallamvolunteering@shu.ac.uk or visit the website, http://hallamunion.org/volunteering.

Hallam Volunteering Committee 08/09

2009-01-31T09:12:00.000-08:00

With the newly elected committee members we thought it may be nice to get to know the committee thought a quick snapshot of questions and find out what there like. They are all lovely really, but heres a few snippets about them that you may not have known!

Leon Snell Fundraising Officer

Course: Physical Education and Youth Sport - Year 3
Most likely to say? Can you make me some eggs Benedict please?
Nickname: Snellson Mandela
Favorite film and why? The Sound of Music - because it's a feel good film with lots of singing and reminds me of my childhood
If you have dinner with anyone who would it be and what would you ask them? Nelson Mandela Why did you steal my name? (oh, and lots of other important stuff about the anti-apartheid movement, imprisonment, and the like. And was it all worth it to
meet the Spice Girls?)

Linzi Anderson Events and Tech Officer and (Vice Chair)

Course and year: 2nd Year Events Management
Most likely to say: Boohiss!
Preferred Nickname: Linz is the closest i have to a nickname!
Favourite Film and why: Ratatouille! It's awesome
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be: my Dad
What would you ask them: How they are and if they're proud of me

Ria Stevens Equal Opps/ Secretary
Course: Law 3rd Year
Most likely to say: Oh man!
Nickname: Rodders (decided to keep it clean lol)
Favourite film and why: Twilight, because it is a classic love story with a twist, and has a gorgeous lead actor.
If you could have dinner with anyone who would it be and what would you say: Take That, I would ask them to serenade me.

Vickie Crofts Publicity officer.

Course and year: Ba Hons Journalism Studies- year 3
Role on committee: Publicity officer
Most likely to say: any who
Preferred Nickname: 'Vixz’
Favourite Film and why: Cool Runnings
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be: My Dad
What would you ask them: His he ok and his he proud?

Megan Lamb- Hallam Volunteering exectuite

Course and year: Physical Education and Youth Sport Yr 3

Most likely to say: amazing
Preferred Nickname: never really had one !!
Favourite Film and why: ouch this is a tough one - save the last dance maybe, lion king is definatly up there though!
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be: Sue Campbell
What would you ask them: everything about PE and Sport in schools, my dissertation, what inspired her? about the work she does with the youth sport trust, sooo many questions!

Liz Credgington Socials & Communication Officer

1st year Events Management
Most likely to say: thats brilliant thank you!
Preferred Nickname, Liz or Lizbeth
Favourite Films are Babe... because I love pigs and Dirty Dancing because its
just a great girlie film.
If I could have dinner with one person it would be: Will Smith

Project Reps:

Katie Adams Working with Children project representative

Course and year: BA (HONS) English Studies 3rd year
Most likely to say: "I bet that it might be." (I like those odds!)

Preferred Nickname: Kate

Favourite Film and why: My favourite film is Mamma Mia because it's happy,sunny, funny and I saw the West End show last spring when I was on holiday inLondon ... reminds me of fun times!!

If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be: William Shakespeare

What would you ask them: Can you help me with my dissertation?

Harriet Swain. Working With Children Rep

Course and year: Physical education and youth sport
Preferred Nickname: 'Haz'
Favourite Film and why: Pearl Harbour- josh harnett, need i say anymore
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would It be: Nelson Mandela,

What would you ask them: How his he still so cool, and can i have a hug

Andy Mitchell Chair & Working with adults rep

Course and year: Business Studies and HRM, 4th Year
Most likely to say: "Jager time? Sambuca time?"
Preferred Nickname: MITCHELL!
Favourite Film and why: Mrs Doubtfire is hilarious, wall-e is my mate, and the green mile is amazing!
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be: Michael Parkinson coz he's had dinner with EVERYONE!
What would you ask them: "What was *insert famous person here* like?" multiple times.

Any Problems, plese get in touch with one of them.

Hallam Volunteering Wins Away at Old Trafford by Rik Measures

2009-01-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

On 2nd December an entourage of students and staff arrived at Manchester United’s Old Trafford football ground to represent Hallam Volunteering at the 2008 Higher Education Volunteering Awards.
Out of the 750 nominations given to various volunteering projects from all around the nation, our guys were there at the final stage armed with an impressive 4 nominations. Little did they know that out of the 18 envelopes containing the names of the 18 winners, 3 had our university’s name on.
The project Season It picked up the Team Award, Press Gang won the Outstanding Project Award and Hallam Volunteering itself was honoured with the Volunteering Team of the Year Award. Carly Hynes, who was up for the Student Individual Award, was the fourth of Hallam’s nominees. Despite her not landing the award she has done her university proud—simply being nominated in recognition of her contribution to volunteering and successfully reaching the final stages of the award ceremony against such fierce competition is a remarkable and inspiring achievement.

Sheffield Hallam University was only one of two universities to win multiple awards. To have Hallam Volunteering’s efforts and commitment recognised on such a scale is a great representation of what our university, students and staff can bring to the table.
Emily Burns, a Volunteering Graduate Trainee who attended the awards ceremony, said “The HEVAs day really opened my eyes to the brilliant work not only Hallam Volunteering carry out, but also many universities across the country. Every university has their unique and inspiring way of helping others and that’s a brilliant thing to see.”

West Street Wobble by Mark Copping

2009-01-26T02:35:00.000-08:00

Can you imagine what it must have been like for the local people of Sheffield, who were out enjoying a cosy drink on West Street, only to be confronted with the masses of Hallam Volunteering all in groups of matching themed fancy dress and all tied together at the ankles, trying to coordinate by saying “On the count of one, we'll take a step with this leg and on two, we'll take a step with this the other”?

The answer to this question doesn't really matter, but it is tradition or the law that the members of Hallam Volunteering must participate in the West Street Wobble in order to raise funds for their prospective project. I'd personally like to say “sit down” to whoever said that the three- legged race on school sports day was pointless, because it's the skills learned in that particular event that make the West Street Wobble such a unique thing.

And who could forget some of the inspired fancy dress that is seen on that night (if you have forgot then you had a very good night): crayons, children's TV characters, those people you stare at and think 'What the hell are they supposed to be?' and everyone that I actually have forgotten about (I apologize). As if the West Street Wobble wasn't already childish enough for you, there also were some fun little games to play with cameras, such as taking pictures of locals in an Egyptian poses, taking pictures of the other groups, taking pictures of people hiding and awards were given out in recognition of the great pieces of 'photography', no 'artwork', which were taken on that night.

It just leaves me to say (although I mentioned it earlier) that the sponsor money raised goes towards the funding of the projects, and a reminder if you haven't done so, is to hand your sponsor money in to your project leader.

“Twas Quite A Few Nights before Christmas” By Kemar

2009-01-26T02:29:00.000-08:00

'Twas quite a few nights before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care; in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while the 100 + Hallam volunteers were down at Bar Phoenix getting a bit off their heads. If you don’t know what I’m talking about then you missed out on quite a good night and for those of you that could make it then you know I’m talking about the Volunteers' Christmas Party that took place on Monday 15th of December.

Free Pounded tickets were on offer for the first 100 volunteers to turn up. This as well as the chance to take part in some general holiday festivities resulted in a very high turnout at the event. There was a great selection of games, a raffle and a buffet. On top of all that the West Street Wobble prizes were also handed out so it was definitely a night of receiving for a lucky few.

The first ever issue of the new “Volunteer Life” magazine was also launched on the night. Vickie Crofts, Publicity Officer and editor of Volunteer Life, had the night off so Rik Measures, a member of the Publicity Team had to stand in. Based on the fact that people were requesting copies directly after his speech, I can report he did a great job! The party ended on a high note and those who weren’t fully satisfied went on to Pounded directly after to carry on partying and get more than their fill!

Children Xmas party

2009-01-24T07:04:00.001-08:00

by Shonagh Dimmick

On Monday 15th December the HUBS played host to this year's children’s Christmas party provided by the Hallam Volunteering team.
Our volunteers had an early morning start; setting up decorations from 11am to make sure everything was ready for the arrival of the children at 4pm! They put a tremendous amount of hard work into the event after not only spending hours setting up, they then had to entertain the children for a further 3 hours.
In total, 120 children from both High Green Primary School and Fox Hill Primary School attended the event. They had an exciting evening playing giant Jenga, Connect 4, snakes and ladders, parachuting games and many, many more. The volunteers also managed to fit in a bouncy castle and a ball pit in the HUBS, all for the enjoyment of the children.
Children aged from 3-7 years were invited to the party to join in on the festive spirit within the Students' Union. No one went home empty handed either, as Father Christmas was on hand in his very own grotto with presents for everyone. Along with this, the volunteers provided an amazing spread of snacks for the children to also get their hands (and mouths) into.
Emma, the project leader, was really pleased with how well the day went as they only had 8 weeks to prepare for the event! She also said how proud she was of her team for working together and creating a great day.
Tyler, from High Green Primary School, said “My favourite part of the day was making Christmas crackers.” Which he later protested that he would be keeping for himself!
Money for the event was raised through the one and only West Street Wobble and the selling of glow sticks at the infamous Pounded. So thank you to everyone who supported the Hallam Volunteers as it was a huge success.

Photos

2009-01-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

Pictures from semester one :

Press Gang Tea Party

http://www.slide.com/r/fNuLtsb_4T8TSWoONgOEFw7HJhpBqfo9?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

Ready Steady Dance, Learning dance move from High School Musical http://www.slide.com/r/JudfaujO1D9D4nhmK5im-skpdrYre4d6?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

External Press,

2009-01-13T11:39:00.000-08:00

TO read more Please follow the links.

Inspiring student volunteers scoop national prizes http://www.shu.ac.uk/news/release.html?ID=376
2/1/9- Student volunteers rewarded http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Student-volunteers-rewarded.4838220.jp
2/1/9 Student volunteers rewarded http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news2/Student-volunteers-rewarded.4838220.jp

18 Jul 2008- Sheffield students reach out to Africa http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/university/Sheffield-students-reach-out-to.4303715.jp

Merry Christmas Everybody

2008-12-24T16:14:00.001-08:00

Heres wishing you a very merry Christmas from all of us here at Hallam Volunteering!!
We hope you have a wonderful time over this festive season.

Please note!!

2008-12-15T02:48:00.000-08:00

The articles that appear here are written by Hallam Volunteers and therefore
are the opinions of Student volunteers rather than Hallam
Union.

New Faces onboard!!

2008-12-15T02:27:00.002-08:00

How the HV staff are shaping up this year:

By Kirsty Brailsford

There are some new faces in the Hallam Volunteering office this year, and also some familiar faces in new places! Amongst those newbies are Beth Blois, Kanyekanye Volunteering Co-ordinator for this year. Beth hopes to bring new, fresh ideas on how to develop Hallam Volunteering. She says “Hallam Volunteering is important for students to develop a whole host of new skills, meet new people and invest into the local community.”

Celia Davis is one of this year’s Graduate Trainee Volunteer Co-ordinators. Celia says she loves being involved in so many great projects, and is proud to be part of an organisation that offers great opportunities for students to get to know more of Sheffield and its great people!

Our Project Volunteer Co-ordinator for this year is Val Roberts, who has the mammoth task of supporting the Committee, and the working groups which are the Publicity Team, the Fundraising Team, the Equal Opportunities Team and the Socials and Communications Team. Although Val has not been involved in Hallam Volunteering before, she has had loads of experience volunteering for different organisations, so it will be interesting to find out what exciting things she’s bound to bring to Hallam Volunteering!

Emily Burns worked as a volunteer throughout her three years at Sheffield Hallam and is now a Graduate Trainee Volunteer Co-ordinator. She says she loves how Hallam Volunteering brings out the best in people, and hopes she can help this year’s volunteers have the great time she had when she was a volunteer, saying “The buzz that Hallam Volunteering provides for students is amazing and shouldn’t be missed by anyone!”

All in all it sounds like we have a dedicated and passionate team of staff this year, so it should be one of the best ever!

Profiles

2008-12-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

Hi again!
We've decided to kick off with a quick profile of the wonderful folks who contribute to the publicity of all the Hallam Volunteering Projects, just so you can get a little snapshot of us and what were like. Were all lovely really, but heres a few snippets about us that you may not have known!

So here goes for 7 of us, the rest were a little shy...

Name: Kirsty Brailsford
Studying: English Studies
Favourite Music Artist: The Goo Goo Dolls
Favourite Film and why: The Notebook, because it’s just amazing!
A Hobby: Pyjama days with friends – thinking of turning it into a full-time career.
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be: Gordon Ramsay, because it’s bound to be yummy, and he’s pretty hot.
What would you ask them: Will you leave your wife for me?
What would like to be asked: When would you like me to leave my wife for you?
Tell us something you love: Doing silly things with my friends.
Tell us something you hate: Rainy days.
What would you change if you could: I’d be a student forever!
Any bad habits: Lots!
Pet Peeves: People that talk too loudly about random sh*t on the train.

Name: Mark Rhodes
Preferred Nickname: I like to be called Mark, as that is my name.
Studying: Business Studies
Favourite Music Artist: Oasis
Favourite Film and why: Toy Story, a sci-fi classic with many emotional twists.
A Hobby: Visiting public houses and going to Peterborough United matches.
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be: Queen Elizabeth 2nd.
What would you ask them: Who would win a fight out of Prince Charles and Prince Edward?
What would like to be asked: Would you like another pint?
Tell us something you love: Lager and Football, a winning combination
Tell us something you hate: Bitter and Rugby, a not so good combination
What would you change if you could: The ending of Watership down, it's bloody tragic!
Any bad habits: Not that I am aware of.
Pet Peeves: People who insist on playing loud crappy music on their phones whilst I am on the train/bus.

Name: Rik Measures
Preferred Nickname: Rik!
Studying: Creative Writing
Favourite Music Artist: Matchbox 20
Favourite Film and why: Jurassic Park because of the T-Rex attack scene!
A Hobby: Story writing.
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be: Aaron Sorkin, creator and writer of The West Wing.
What would you ask them: How he writers so well!
What would like to be asked: If I’d like him to teach me!
Tell us something you love: Apple juice.
Tell us something you hate: Carrots.
What would you change if you could: I’d make Facebook Chat actually work!
Any bad habits: Laughing at people falling over and hurting themselves.
Pet Peeves: People asking if they can ask a question. They didn’t ask if they could ask that question, so why ask if they can ask another??

Name: Samuel Peter Woolley
Preferred Nickname: Woolley, or Rory (I look a *bit* like Rory McGrath)
Studying: BA Hons Business Studies
Favourite Music Artist:F Red Hot Chili Peppers, pretty much the soundtrack to a lot of my teen years!
Favourite Film and why: Star Wars (Episodes 4, 5 and 6) They’re amazing that’s why! Good old fashioned stories of good vs evil in a sci-fi setting, not to mention Wookies! Brilliant!
A Hobby: I don't get to do this much more, but I do enjoy a good Ghyll Scramble!
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be: Rene Descartes (My favourite Philosopher)
What would you ask them: I’m not sure really, something to do with philosophy most likely.
What would you like to be asked: Fancy a holiday?
(I really do fancy a holiday, its been too long)
Tell us something you love: Open fire places… and ale.
Tell us something you hate: Narrow mindedness
What would you change if you could: I’d make the news a little bit more cheery, there’s far too many depressing stories on the news.
Any bad habits: I don’t call my grandparents as much as I should
Pet Peeves: Those people who play music from their phone in public!

Name: Shonagh Dimmick
Preferred Nickname: Sho
Studying: PR and Media
Favourite Music Artist: Alicia Keys
Favourite Film and why: White Chicks cause it reminds me of home and all my friends!
A Hobby: Swimming
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be: Tyrese Gibson
What would you ask them: I wouldn’t ask him anything I would just stare at him!
Tell us something you love: My boyfriend!
Tell us something you hate: Coconut
What would you change if you could: My bank balance
Any bad habits: Biting my nails
Pet Peeves: Washing

Name: Lori Powell
Preferred Nickname: Lori
Studying: Marketing
Favourite Music Artist: None really
Favourite Film and why: Con Air (John Malkovich and Nicholas cage are good actors)
A Hobby: Organising events
If you could have dinner with one person (from any point in time) who would it be? Errrrrm, can't really think of anyone!
Tell us something you love: Going to church with ma girls!
Tell us something you hate: Spiders
What would you change if you could? About myself or about the world? If about myself then nothing I'm brilliant, if about the world? Then the mindsets of those who live below their potentials.
Any bad habits: Nope only good ones!
Pet Peeves: People who stop to talk in the middle of busy shopping isles, staircases and anywhere else I'm trying to pass through.

Name: Victoria Crofts
Preferred Nickname: Vixz
Studying: BA Hons Journalism Studies
Favourite Music Artist: Westlife and Girls ALoud.
Favourite Film and why: 101 Dalmatians and cool running’s don’t know why loved it since I was a kid.
Tell us something you love: Ice cream and Choclate.
Tell us something you hate: not being allowed the above.
Any bad habits: Biting my nails

Bloggers Behold!

2008-12-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the all-new Sheffield Hallam Volunteering - Publicity Blog!
You might be wondering why weve moved from our old blog? Well, we may have lost some of the details along the line (oops) and to make life easier for ourselves we simply decided to up and relocate to here!

Nothings changed though, were still dedicated to bringing you the very latest and greatest of goings on in Hallam Volunteering, so make sure you come and check in regularly for any updates on your favourite projects.