It is our first week back at university after our long summer holiday! Some of you might be freshers, others starting second year and some delving deep into third year! However, no matter what year you are in, I am sure we all can relate with all the uncertainty COVID has brought. Therefore, we wanted to start our year to make sure that you know how our programmes will run this year and how we are planning on keeping you and your loved ones all safe.
That way you can dive straight into volunteering with Winchester Hub confident in yourself, your safety and knowing exactly what you have signed up for! So that leads me to the question, How are we doing our remote volunteering?
Firstly I would like to mention a few key points that apply to all programmes:
- There will not be any in-person volunteering in the first semester. It will all be online/virtual or remote.
- At any in-person event (i.e. welcome week or information stalls) face coverings and gloves will be worn, with hand sanitiser provided.
- All our activities will come with support on how to use the online tools we are working with
- We will continue to have students be able to come into the office (pre-book) for accessibility, with a one student at a time policy.
For further detailed information on our COVID Safe Guidance, click here: https://www.winchesterhub.org/assets/img/page/2009-wh-covid-safe-guidance-1.pdf
Social Innovation Programme (SIP)
For our SIP all of our trainings are done remotely, as well as the launch and showcase! We use a platform called Slack to make communication as easy as possible for all our volunteers. There are weekly trainings and a mid programme catch up (optional) to keep everyone connected! This was trialled over the summer, and as demonstrated below, from our volunteers of Summer SIP, it was successful.
A really positive outcome from SIP being remote was that we could connect with more remote community groups! For example, over summer we worked with Wickham Community Centre.
If SIP seems to be something you would like to get involved in, please apply here.
Schools Plus
Schools Plus are doing their best to continue to support students in different ways, they will:
- Support students who struggle working from home or need catching up in areas that were not covered over.
- Have COVID online 1-1 tutoring opportunities for students that need additional support.
- Have a resource building to support overwhelmed teachers, both online and offline that will be printed and posted to high risk students.
If you would like to get involved in Schools Plus, please apply here.
Woolly Matters
Woolly Matters will continue as usual, however, instead of meeting in person it will be virtual. There will be online weekly hangouts to knit for social change with the occasional meet up in person (in accordance with government regulations).
If you are interested in joining Woolly Matters, please apply here.
Youth Theatre
Youth Theatre ideas are still being brewed! However, if you would like to get involved or find out more pop us an email at [email protected] or [email protected] if you have any.
If you are interested in joining Youth Theatre, please apply here.
GIAG
Give It A Go is providing online and offline volunteering! We have been knitting hearts, creating cards and running campaigns online during the summer. You can read more about what GIAG got up to in the summer in our recent blog. If you do not have a lot of time to give but still interested in getting involved in one-off events GIAG is for you. Find out how else you can get involved by signing up to our newsletters here, following us on social media platform and checking our website here.
Updates
Social Media Takeover
Keep an eye out on our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as each of our programmes run a three-day Social Media Takeover! Get to learn more about our programmes, coordinators, volunteers and benefits they provide for yourself as well as our Winchester community!
