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.
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 one X-Card drop-in session 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. However, we encourage all students to think carefully about whether now is the right time to take on this type of volunteering opportunity.
You will also need to be able to commit to the two Wellbeing Volunteer training afternoons on the 13th and 27th November 2019.
Will volunteers receive any training?
Wellbeing Volunteers receive training in sexual health, alcohol and drugs, and mental wellbeing.
You will also benefit from ongoing staff support to help you carry out the role, and will develop communication skills, interpersonal skills and health and wellbeing knowledge.
Please check the dates below and make sure that you are able to attend all the compulsory sessions before applying. Both sessions will take place on Wednesday afternoons
| Date | Session Description | Attendance required? | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/11/19 | Wellbeing Volunteer training session 1: Induction, sexual health and X-Card |
Yes | 4-7.30pm |
| 27/11/19 |
Wellbeing Volunteer training session 2: |
Yes | 4-7.30pm |
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.
Applications will be assessed 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 the range of issues and difficulties that can arise
- Experience that has developed skills in communication, interpersonal skills, being non-judgemental, respectful and open-minded
Is this the right opportunity for me?
We think it’s really important that our team is diverse, so we welcome applications from everyone, including those who are often underrepresented in the area of wellbeing volunteering. This includes but is not limited to trans and non-binary people, men, postgraduate students, people with an ethnic minority background, people with a disability, people with dependants or caring responsibilities, and people who identify as LGBTQ+.
The wellbeing of students is our top priority; this means the wellbeing of both students seeking support and students who are volunteering. Therefore we encourage all students to think carefully about whether now is the right time for them to take on this type of volunteering opportunity. If you’re unsure about whether this role is right for you at the moment, feel free to email us to arrange an informal chat: healthandwellbeing@sussex.ac.uk
To ensure the wellbeing of volunteers and students, if we have any reason to believe that a volunteer is unable to continue to carry out their role, for example due to illness, then we will have to consider bringing your time with us to a close, or asking you to take some time away from volunteering.
You may also be interested in applying to become a Tea and Talk Peer Support Volunteer.
Applying to become a Wellbeing Volunteer
To apply to become a Wellbeing volunteer please complete our online application form. Remember to write about how you meet the criteria detailed above.
The deadline for applications to become a Wellbeing Volunteer is 9am on Thursday 31st October.
We will contact you on Friday 1st November to let you know if your application was successful or not.
You must be able to attend both training sessions (4.00-7.30pm) on the 13th and 27th November 2019.
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
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