Healthwatch West Sussex celebrates Student Volunteering Week

At Healthwatch West Sussex, we know how valuable volunteering is to our organisation. Here’s some reasons why students should get involved with volunteering:  

Chance to develop skills 

Volunteering in an area you’re interested in will help you learn new skills that will be essential in your working career. Whatever career you dream of having, volunteering is a fantastic way to get started.  

Helps your mental health 

You have been through a lot in the past few years. COVID has meant a lot of home learning, and loneliness has become a huge problem for a lot of young people. Volunteering can positively support mental health by helping you feel more connected to the world around you. It is also a great way to meet people and make friends.  

Make a change 

Volunteering your time not only helps you but is massively beneficial for the people and community you are helping. Whether you are helping with a beach clean, or spending time with a person in need – you are making a positive difference and making the world a better place.  

Get the most out of volunteering 

Whatever you decide to do as a student volunteer, it’s important you enjoy and benefit from it. You don’t have to give loads of hours, even 2-3 hours a week will be beneficial. Ensure you are volunteering the amount of time that feels comfortable for you – it should feel like a rewarding hobby, not a chore.  

Spend some time deciding what you want to do as a volunteer. What do you want to achieve? What do you feel passionate about? When you find a role, make sure you ask questions to ensure the experience is right for your skills and goals. Find out what the time commitments are, and if there is any training involved. 

Some of our student volunteer roles could include:  

• Creating a series of blog/vlogs sharing your experience of health services, and encouraging other people to share theirs

• Mystery shopping – phoning services and making notes about the experience (answerphone message or call handler) 

• Website audits - checking the information that is available via service websites is listed in a structured way using a checklist 

• Use social media to collect insight about peoples experience of health and social care services. You could run a poll, or a survey to help your research. 

• Design a poster or flyer for your school or college to inform students and staff about who Healthwatch are and how we act on feedback and drive change. 

Have an idea for a project?  

We would love to hear your ideas. If you have an idea about a project to share information / promote healthy lifestyles / capture voices to influence improvements etc, we can explore ideas and options with you and help develop and co-design new projects. Just get in touch!