Why We Need Your Help
Your donation will enable us to support 20,000 hours of volunteering - including weekly tutoring sessions for disadvantaged children, activity days with young carers, befriending schemes with isolated older people and more.
Valued at Living Wage, these volunteering opportunities will generate over £165,000 worth of support in our communities, adding capacity to local services and charities in high demand. Due to a lack of sustainable funding for social action of this kind, it is vital that we come together to support communities in need. With your help, we can continue to fill gaps in local communities and become more sustainable.
Who We Are
Student Hubs is a charity engaging university students with their communities. We do this by creating practical volunteering opportunities and placements in not-for-profit organisations, incubating community projects, organising training schemes and running educational events.
Founded and based in Oxford, we currently have active Hubs in 10 UK Universities: Bristol, Cambridge, Kingston, Oxford, Oxford Brookes, SOAS, Southampton, Warwick, West London and Winchester. Every year, over 17,000 students organise and take part in Hub events and activities that connect them to the community.
What We Believe
When students are supported to tackle social challenges in their communities, both students and the wider community benefit. High quality social action creates a double impact, as acknowledged by Step Up To Serve’s #iwill campaign, which aims to see an additional 1.5 million young people active in their communities by 2020.
Student social action creates lasting positive change, enhancing communities and equipping young people to become active citizens for life. Last year, as a result of getting involved with us, 92% of students felt more motivated to engage in social and environmental issues (see our 2014-15 Impact report for further details). Our programmes increase students’ understanding of these issues, bring them closer to their community, and often change their career plans.
Case Studies
Code Plus (Part of the national Schools Plus programme)
“The children loved having the University students in and would regularly speak with them about changes they had made to their code and how they had adapted a certain game. Several parents have expressed how happy they were that their child was being supported by the students.”
Teacher from Park Walk Primary School, London
Branch Up
“I joined the Branch Up programme in October 2014 motivated by the idea of inspiring young people. On a trip to London Wetlands Centre, another colleague from Imperial and I were assigned to a young boy with a disorder in the spectrum of Autism. I knew the task would be challenging, but not hard as I could empathise with the child’s condition, as I have it myself. Branch Up isn’t just about having random and disorganised fun with children. It is more about mutual learning, team-work and understanding the background where these children come from, and by doing so try and take action, inspire them and have fun with free play activities on the way.”
Patrick, Branch Up Volunteer at The Hub, West London
LinkAges
“I love having the volunteers to help out with activities. I enjoy getting to know the volunteers and making new friendships with them. Without them I wouldn’t be able to go on as many trips as I would like.”
Isis House Care Home resident, Oxford