VOLUNTEERING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

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US students often ask about volunteering opportunities while in the UK. If admitted to the UK with pre-entry clearance as an ‘ international student’, then you are permitted to work, paid or unpaid, in the UK. However, if admitted as a ‘ student visitor’ , you will technically not be able to volunteer – go to www.britishcouncil.org/usa-education-visas-entry-clearance.htm for a pretty clear outline of current visa regulations.

Though they are not all included on the list below, every hosting university’s Students’ Union inevitably has a wealth of information on local opportunities, and often a dedicated officer or coordinator as well. Further, most universities designate certain times of the year to run intensive charity RAG [Raise and Give] programmes.

Many universities have mentoring programmes, which places university students in schools, working individually with pupils and helping them with their schoolwork.

Volunteering opportunities can also be located through local ‘ volunteer bureaux’ in towns and cities around the UK. They are a good source of information on organisations needing volunteer assistance. The main websites of Volunteer England and Volunteer Centre Scotland have links to all of the local volunteer bureaux.

There are often seasonal volunteer opportunities during the winter months (e.g. Crisis) or during fundraising activities.

The Guardian newspaper gives a listing of organisations looking for volunteers; it is included in the Wednesday‘ Society’ section, once a month.

University alumni clubs in the UK or the Cornell/Brown/Penn Centre can sometimes help identify contacts.

* Please note that there are background checks for anyone wanting to work with vulnerable groups such as children, asylum seekers and the elderly. In order to work with such vulnerable groups, it would be preferable to seek information on police background checks in the United States before coming to the UK. It is time-consuming to get a background check once you have come to the UK, but there are many volunteering opportunities that do not require such checks. In addition, references are sometimes necessary, so some organisations (e.g. hospitals) are unlikely to be able to offer volunteer places to students who are in the UK for less than six months.

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