Here at Southampton Hub, we employ a wide range of volunteering techniques, offering programmes and opportunities with a range of commitment options for volunteers. Microvolunteering is type of volunteering developed more recently that Southampton Hub believe can impact both us and our volunteers positively. Read on to learn about Microvolunteering and how we plan to embrace it!
What is Microvolunteering?
Microvolunteering is an approach to community action that allows people to support charities and community organisations in small ways. These are short tasks that require low commitment, while still creating meaningful change. They are often completed virtually, making social action convenient and accessible to a wide range of people.
Engaging in social action is extremely beneficial for people in a number of ways. It enhances skills and confidence, builds connection and community, and makes people feel good! Bristol Hub, another branch of our charity Student Hubs, has written more about the positive effects of volunteering at university. In addition to the people partaking in it, Microvolunteering also benefits charities! It opens opportunities to a broader volunteer base, that can be based anywhere in the country and don’t generally require a screening or application process. Having people perform small tasks can also save charities time and money overall.
How are Southampton Hub offering Microvolunteering opportunities?
Southampton Hub understands that many students lead busy lives and are not able to commit to one of our six regular volunteering programmes. Last year we put particular effort into ensuring a wider range of students could participate in social action, running 14 one-off volunteering opportunities. These ranged from community gardening to donation drives to digital literacy sessions – there’s something for everyone! If you’re interested in getting involved, you can sign up to our register our interest form here.
This year, Southampton Hub has introduced a new role to the committee: an Issues and Events Coordinator, created to widen our social action scope and embrace a range of causes that university students feel passionately about. Nicole Otieno was elected to the position after a wonderful speech at our AGM. When asked about her motivations for the role, she said:
On the Venn diagram that is the number of people who discuss or are affected by social issues, Southampton Hub are representative of the subset of people who are participating in solution finding in a ‘quantifiable’ manner. There is a much larger subset that intersects with this one: those who want to get involved in social action but don’t know where to start.
My motivation to be the Issues and Events Coordinator is to tap into this fence-sitting subset. After all, it’s the subset I’ve been in all this while. I know there are some like me, who are enticed by the success of initiatives like Southampton Hub, who positively impact 5 people from every 1 volunteer they recruit. There are others who, rather than being enticed, are intimidated by the labour, social awareness and research that goes into creating such widespread benefits for our community.
I empathise with this deeply and have dedicated my role to appealing to my people on the fence. I want to show them that social action is easier to partake in than you think and all that matters is that you come as you are. It does require a certain humility to be willing to learn as you go, and I am here to ensure that the process meets you where you’re at.
Nicole Otieno, Events and Issues Coordinator
She has been quick to embrace Microvolunteering with her #BabySteps campaign, which will launch in the new year and aims to create room for growth, learning and no-pressure engagement with social issues and social action. It’s based on the ‘come-as-you-are’ philosophy, with the overall goal of getting more people involved, particularly via one-off events and collaborations.
How can you get involved?
We want people to know that participating in social action can be simple. As part of the #BabySteps campaign, Nicole has put together a list of things you can do today to better your community:
- Participate in 1 volunteering event this month. If you’re at home for the summer, look at notice boards to find out about local groups and upcoming events! If you’re in Southampton, why not join Friends of Portswood Rec for their Sunday gardening sessions?
- Read 2 articles that discuss social issues. We like…
- Our very own Southampton Hub blog!
- HeForShe – The United Nations Global Solidarity Movement For Gender Equality
- Africa’s groundbreaking women’s rights treaty turns 20 – the hits and misses of the Maputo protocol
- The Power of Community, How Local Engagement Can Support International Students’ Skills, Wellbeing and Belonging. – HEPI
- Research a social issue you’re interested in and create something inspired by what you’ve learnt e.g. a poster, a drawing, origami, a painting, pinterest board, etc.
- Celebrate a friend you know has been going through a hard time e.g. by buying them a gift, sending them a message or going out with them!
Sources
https://www.galaxydigital.com/blog/microvolunteering
https://www.showyoucare.org.uk/get-involved/give-your-time/10-minute-microvolunteering/
https://www.charityexcellence.co.uk/Home/BlogDetail?Link=Charity_Micro_Volunteering_Management