Become a Wellbeing Volunteer

Are you interested in health and wellbeing? Do you want to help students to look after their wellbeing, while gaining some great experience for your CV? We’re looking for friendly, enthusiastic, dedicated Sussex students like you to become Wellbeing Volunteers!

What do Wellbeing Volunteers do?

Wellbeing Volunteers promote wellbeing in the Sussex student community by running X-Card sexual health drop-ins, delivering outreach activities and campaigns, and being part of special events (e.g. Welcome Week, Re-Freshers and Wellbeing Week). We run activities and campaigns on a wide range of student wellbeing issues, including sexual health, alcohol and drug use, mental/emotional health and wellbeing, and equality and diversity issues.

As a Wellbeing Volunteer there will also be the opportunity to get involved in the Tea and Talk Peer Support Network, if this is something that you're interested in. Tea and Talk volunteers will work together to run weekly Tea and Talk sessions, welcoming Sussex students with free tea, biscuits and relaxed chat about student life and mental wellbeing. Volunteers won’t offer counselling, but will lend a supportive listening ear, and provide information about services that can offer further support.

What will I gain from being a Wellbeing Volunteer?

Great experience to talk about on CVs, applications forms and in interviews
Meet new, likeminded people
Build new skills and develop existing ones
Develop wellbeing events and campaigns for Sussex students
Your own volunteer hoodie
Access to professional training

What commitment is required?

We will work with you to manage your volunteering around your other commitments but will require a commitment from you to run at least two X-Card drop-in sessions a month. Each drop-in session is 1 hour and they run on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons from 1-2pm. We also expect volunteers to get involved in at least one campaign or event per term.

We understand that life can sometimes get in the way of volunteering, as can illness and university work, so we will work with you to create a system that works for everyone - and no one should feel overwhelmed with the amount of time they have to give.

You will also need to be able to commit to the two Wellbeing Volunteer training afternoons on the 7th and 21st November 2018.

If you want to be involved the the Tea and Talk Peer Supper Network then you'll also need to attend a 2 hour induction on the afternoon of the 17th October and the two training afternoons on the 24th and 31st October 2018.

Will volunteers receive any training?

We offer a full training programme for Wellbeing Volunteers. Please check the dates below and make sure that you are able to attend all the compulsory sessions before applying. All sessions will take place on Wednesday afternoons.

	Date	Session Description	Attendance required?	Time
Tea and Talk Volunteers	17/10/18	Tea and Talk Volunteer induction	Optional - only for those wanting to be involved in the Tea and Talk Network	3-5pm TBC
Tea and Talk Volunteers	24/10/18	Tea and Talk Volunteer training session 1	Optional - only for those wanting to be involved in the Tea and Talk Network	2-5pm TBC
Tea and Talk Volunteers	31/10/18	Tea and Talk Volunteer training session 2	Optional - only for those wanting to be involved in the Tea and Talk Network	2-5pm TBC
Wellbeing Volunteers	7/11/18	Wellbeing Volunteer training session 1: Induction, sexual health and X-Card	Required for all Wellbeing Volunteers	2-5.30pm
Wellbeing Volunteers	21/11/18	Wellbeing Volunteer training session 2: Alcohol and Drugs, and Mental Wellbeing	Required for all Wellbeing Volunteers	2-5.30pm

There may also be opportunities to attend professional training sessions run by Brighton and Hove City Council during the year.

What are we looking for in volunteers?

We are particularly keen to recruit first and second year volunteers as this will help us to continue to deliver student wellbeing activity in future, however what’s most important is that you are passionate and keen to get involved.

We think it’s really important that our team membership reflects the diversity of our students, so we welcome applications from everyone, including, but not limited to: students of any gender; postgraduate students; students with an ethnic minority background; students with a disability; students with dependants or caring responsibilities; and students who identify as LGBTQ+.

Applicants will be informally scored based on the following:

Enthusiasm for improving student wellbeing
Commitment to creating an inclusive, confidential, non-judgemental and welcoming environment on campus
Understanding and awareness of the student lifestyle, and a range of student wellbeing issues
Experience (including but not limited to your work or interest in health and wellbeing campaigning, volunteering or customer service)

How to apply

To apply to become a Wellbeing Volunteer please complete our online application form.

If you would like to be involved with the Tea and Talk Peer Support Network then the deadline for applications is 9am on Thursday 4th October, and we will contact you on Friday 5th October to let you know if your application has been successful.

If you would like to apply to become a Wellbeing Volunteer without being involved in the Tea and Talk network then the deadline for applications is 9am on Thursday 25th October, and we will contact you on Monday 29th October to let you know if your application has been successful.

We remind any person considering becoming a volunteer to check whether they are allowed to volunteer under the terms of their visa or entry clearance conditions. If your visa does not permit you to volunteer, this may have implications for your future ability to work/study/remain in the UK. If you require further advice or information, contact UK Visas and Immigration or visit www.gov.uk

If you have any questions about the role or the application then feel free to email Beth (Student Wellbeing Coordinator) at beth.kent@sussex.ac.uk