The annual Student Volunteering Cardiff (SVC) Awards Ceremony has paid tribute to the army of student volunteers who have dedicated hours of their time helping members of the local community.
SVC is one of the largest organisations of its kind in the UK, with more than 1,000 student volunteers working in and around the city to support the elderly, young, disadvantaged and vulnerable members of the community. The awards evening saw more than 55 University volunteers were presented with certificates by its patron Baroness Ilora Finlay of Llandaff for their work in organising community projects. They included SVC Executive members and Project Co-ordinators.
The Awards Ceremony, attended by Jenny Randerson AM, also saw Baroness Finlay presented with the Investing in Volunteers Award. Baroness Finlay accepted the Award on behalf of SVC from the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), the body which manages Investing in Volunteers in Wales.
The re-accreditation of the Investing in Volunteers (IiV) kite mark for a further three years recognises SVC’s continued commitment to improving the quality of its volunteering provision through training and investment. It also acknowledges the enormous contribution SVC volunteers make to the city of Cardiff.
Baroness Finlay said: “SVC is a credit to the University and an invaluable resource to the Cardiff community. In any given year, the students can spend up to 81,000 hours volunteering and helping around 800 people a week – giving so much of their time to help those members of the community who are often neglected is to be highly commended. I felt very honoured to receive the award on behalf of the students”
From befriending projects and hospice buddy schemes to after school clubs, homeless projects and mental health support groups, collectively SVC contributes an estimated £990,000 to the local economy.
Cardiff School of Physics and Astronomy student, and Chair of SVC, Edd Gudgeon said: “Achieving the Investing in Volunteers standard for another three years will be a great boost for SVC building on its already substantial reputation within the University, Welsh communities and the UK. It is testament to the hard work and dedication of all those people who come together year in year out to make this organisation work, as well as the volunteers themselves.”
Investing in Volunteers is the UK quality standard for all organisations which involve volunteers in their work. Cardiff was the first higher education institution in the UK to achieve the standard in 2007. It aims to improve the quality of volunteering experiences and to encourage organisations to better recognise the enormous contribution made by volunteers.
