Make a Difference Weeks
Make a Difference Weeks are an opportunity for students and staff to make a positive difference through supporting causes that impact the local community. Throughout the year, we will be running five themed weeks which will include a variety of activities including practical volunteering, fundraising, campaigning and awareness raising. These are one-off activities that don’t require ongoing commitment, giving you the opportunity to gain experience and support your personal development, well-being and sense of community. Make a Difference Weeks are part of the get involved stage of My Student Journey: a framework to complete throughout your degree, offering helpful guidance, CV-enhancing opportunities and skills development, so you can shape your future, as you prepare for life after you graduate.
Thank you for making a difference
The themed Make a Difference Weeks have included a variety of activities such as practical volunteering, fundraising, campaigning and awareness raising. Three out of the five themed weeks took place in the autumn term.
Make a difference in Schools took place in October where over 150 enthusiastic student and staff volunteers spent a few hours in local primary schools getting creative as they made clay diyas, door hangings, paper fireworks, rangoli patterns and more to support Diwali themed activities in 3 schools. Volunteers also spent a morning supporting young children with their reading to help make reading a fun experience. Over 1000 children benefited from University of Leicester volunteers.
Make a difference to your local community took place in November and provided an opportunity for staff and students to do an act of kindness during World Kindness Day. 125 plant pots were decorated with shiny gems and ribbon which were then filled with a plant which was provided by the Student Participation & Engagement Team and Grounds Team. Volunteers wrote messages of kindness which were attached to the plant before they were given away.
Following this, a ‘Crafts, Games and Conversation’ volunteering activity took place in two care homes, where 13 friendly volunteers attended and befriended elderly residents.
Make a difference to Homelessness took place during Christmas on Campus 2019. The Shoebox Team Challenge was a huge success and saw generous donations from office teams, individual staff and students who had taken their time to graciously fill shoe boxes with essential items for homeless youths in Leicester. 72 shoe boxes were filled, wrapped and handed to The Y, youth homelessness charity. We recently received a thank you letter from The Y in March 2020, which stated that every resident was given a shoebox at Christmas.
In February 2020, it was a make a difference to Wellbeing where incredible volunteers spent an afternoon getting creative at an Age UK day centre. They painted mandalas on stones, played games and had conversations.
Make a difference to your Environment was organised to take place from Monday 16th March, with opportunities including practical conservation, climate change themed workshops, a litter pick followed by a waste audit and much more . The activities and events for were due to be co delivered by the Student Engagement and Participation Team and the Social Impact Team but had to be cancelled and postponed to a later date due to the coronovirus. The litter pick in Victoria Park however did go ahead and a team of amazing litter heroes gave a little of their time to make a big difference.
Thank you to each and every one who participated in or supported a make a difference event, you are awesome!
You can still make a difference in from the comfort of your own home, below are some organisations who would greatly appreciate any time you can give:
- The NHS: https://www2.le.ac.uk/students/announcements/nhs-volunteers-urgently-needed
- The Prince's Trust: https://www2.le.ac.uk/students/announcements/nhs-volunteers-urgently-needed
- Age UK: https://www2.le.ac.uk/students/announcements/nhs-volunteers-urgently-needed
Get Recognition! Don't forget to log any volunteering that you do through the Students Union Volunteering Portal
If you would like to get involved in regular or longer term volunteering in the local community, please log in to the Student’s Union Volunteering Portal.
