Community Action Volunteering exists to connect, train and support Royal Holloway students and staff seeking to volunteer in the local community.

There is a whole range of project opportunities including sports coaching, youth work, support for people with needs, tutoring & mentoring school pupils, teaching English or IT to young refugees, victim support, reminiscence work, befriending elders, charity shop assistance, fundraising, animal support work, events management, culture, arts & music, media & photography, environmental, conservation & preservation work and so much more. We have office placements and internships with local charities available too. Volunteering enhances your transferable skills and employability, builds a healthy long-term community spirit, and is loads of fun whilst meeting new people.

Community Action provides support through hosting the Volunteering Fair, organising Get Involved week, sourcing Christmas & Summer opportunities, running regular transferable skills workshops, managing the Community Action student team and giving recognition through the Volunteering Awards. We partner with various accreditation schemes such as with Volunteering England, Vinvolved and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. During the year you are invited to join a project team as part of a  one off initiative such as Make A Difference Day, the BIG spring clean and Volunteering Week, where volunteers get involved in a range of local community projects.

Guides to volunteering are available in PDF format entitled; A Guide To Volunteering, International Students' Guide, and Partners Guide To Volunteering. Click here for more details.

Get involved today! Simply drop by the office in the Students’ Union, call 01784 414078, text 07799 378052, e-mail volunteering@rhul.ac.uk, join the Facebook group or just click 'Get Involved'.

Acting Principal's Support:

‘Volunteering is regarded as one of the key components of the student experience at Royal Holloway. It provides an ideal opportunity for students to enhance their personal development and obtain key transferable skills that will increase their employability as graduates. Volunteers make a vital contribution to community relations by helping to break down perceived barriers between the College and the local community. Our investment in a volunteer management and support infrastructure has led to an ongoing growth of a volunteering culture at Royal Holloway with over 10% of our student population registered as volunteers.’

Professor Rob Kemp - Acting Principal, Royal Holloway, University of London

Volunteering Definitions:

"the activity should be of benefit to someone other than the volunteer, or to society at large, although it is recognised that volunteering brings significant benefit to the volunteer as well." source - United Nations

Volunteering England definitions document

Use the 'about us' directory list below to find out more about Community Action - click on the underlined links.

Community Action builds bridges between universities and their communities, enhancing the quality of life in disadvantaged sections of the community, allowing staff and students to gain new perspectives and skills. The guide below gives you all the information you need to get involved as a volunteer at Royal Holloway.

Community Action Volunteering - The Community Action programme promotes volunteering among the College's staff and students. It is a great way to get involved in off-campus activities, make new friends, learn things and build your CV.

Community Action Student Team - This is a team of students who are serving Community Action in a committed ongoing manner. They help promote volunteering across campus amongst the student population, whilst engaged with community projects themselves leading project teams in the local community. There is a newly formed International Students team too. Application forms are available for these teams online - click here

Community Action International Students - International students are in a great position to conbtribute something unique and valuable to the local community. To find out more about how to get involved - click here

Community Action Staff - This is a specific area to encourage Royal Holloway staff to consider getting involved with various Community Action volunteering initiatives, events and projects during the year.

Community Action Partners - The local community organisations registered with Community Action form a partnership to enable volunteers to be involved with projects based with them. Volunteers are currently able to be assigned to over 80 local organisations.

Community Action Volunteers - To become a volunteer is 'simple as a, b, c'; (a) browse the projects, (b) register online, (c) complete the online CRB disclosure form when sent, and then get going!

Community Action Projects - Projects take place on weekdays, weekends and in the holidays, evenings or during the day, according to the needs of partner organisations and volunteers.

Community Action Training - Specialised training is mostly provided by our partner organisations. Training is either ongoing or occurs at specific times during the academic year, and is advertised on the noticeboard, and via the Community Action mailing list.

Community Action Awards - Volunteers can recieve various accreditation and awards for all they do in the community. Every volunteer will recieve Royal Holloway volunteering accreditation through the Get Recognised scheme, and invited to log their hours online for a vaward. Volunteers can be nominated for Volunteering England Gold Awards, Higher Education Student Volunteering Awards, and even the prestigious Mayor of Runnymede's Cup for student volunteer of the year which are presented at the annual Volunteering Awards Celebration.

Community Action Noticeboard - you will find all the latest news and info on Community Action, the online noticeboard displays latest opportunities for volunteering. There is also a page dedicated to Community & Voluntary Sector job vacancies which graduates might be interested in.

Community Action Updates - Volunteers can keep their contact detiails and project areas updated to ensure they receive the latest opportunities. Update yours now.

Community Action Office - Find the team upstairs in the Students' Union. Open most weekedays 9am-5pm.

Community Action Online - you have already found it - so please keep browsing!