If, for whatever reason, you become unhappy, are not enjoying the experience or suddenly find you no longer have the time to commit to it, you should communicate this to the organisation you are volunteering with to resolve the situation. If you are still unhappy, you can raise the issue with your local HEI Admin. Their contact details are available on our Contact Us page.

In some cases yes, often this is an informal chat. The organisation posting the opportunity want to get to know you and see where your interests lie. Sometimes they might assign you a different task if you both decide that would be more beneficial. 

If you would no longer like to be on the Studentvolunteer.ie system and would like to be removed please contact us with your account details and they will remove your account from the system. 

The Studentvolunteer.ie Certificate represents the volunteering, training and reflection undertaken by a student. Employers seek skilled, well rounded students. The Studentvolunteer.ie Certificate represents your commitment to something further than your studies. By volunteering on or off campus we recognise the learning that can come from outside the classroom and so do future employers. On your CV it is important to refer to the Studentvolunteer.ie Certificate as an achievement.

The volunteering you committed yourself to and the training you received has been recognised through the Studentvolunteer.ie Certificate. Questions in the reflection application represent questions that real world employers will ask in an interview. For example, what are the skills you have and demonstrate with an example of how you have used your skill? When have you worked in a team? Not only can you draw on examples from your studies but you can also draw on examples from volunteering.

Employers seek employees with experience. Volunteering can offer a whole range of experiences that employers seek. Fundraising, raising awareness, retail experience, homework clubs, youth groups, etc. all illustrate different qualities of experience. Most importantly you have demonstrated experience of working with people and active communication skills.

Most importantly we need our partner organisations to ensure the integrity of StudentVolunteer.ie and to provide a positive experience for the student. This can be achieved with these guidelines

• The student volunteer follows a volunteer role description as opposed to a job description.
• The student volunteer is provided with appropriate training by the partner organisation to carry out any tasks assigned to them.
• The student volunteer contributes to the meaningful work of the partner organisation.
• The student volunteer is supervised by the partner organisation or offered support as they require it.
• When the partner organisation is satisfied the student volunteer has met the criteria for the volunteer award, the partner organisation signs off on the student’s application for the Studentvolunteer.ie Certificate.

Yes, we do allow internships on our site however they must strictly be 'part-time' internships and expected to be carried out on a voluntary basis by the student. You can cover travel/ lunch expenses but the work expected to be done should not exceed a 15 hour per week maximum. A student should be able to carry out the internship in line with a full degree programme. If you don't think that this sounds like an internship you'd like to offer, check out ActiveLink where you can advertise paid internships to students or recent graduates.

Please note: we only accept internships from organisations with a CHY number. 

Studentvolunteer.ie does not screen or select volunteers for you, you are responsible for this process. We will try to guide or steer potential volunteers to roles we think will suit both themselves and the organisation, but we cannot control who applies. We cannot guarantee to refer any volunteers, however, we continue to actively promote all vacant roles. Volunteer roles cannot replace paid positions.

Studentvolunteer.ie cannot supply organisations with groups of volunteers, but our system allows you to recruit multiple volunteers for the opportunities you post.

We accept opportunities from community groups, non-profit organisations and NGOs with a CHY number for volunteering positions. 

Volunteer Involving Organisations are welcome to join us by creating an account and posting a volunteer role for students to see in order to:

• gain a new pool of energised and focused volunteers
• share their mission and work with future potential donors, staff and volunteers as students will go on to share what the learn about your impact
• connect with higher education staff and opportunities with higher education including curriculum, research and knowledge exchange

Studentvolunteer.ie does not provide training or Garda vetting to student volunteers. It is up to each individual organisation to ensure that volunteers meet the vetting needs of their organisation.

Some organisations require volunteers to undergo reference checks or police checks in line with current legislation. If they require this, they will notify you. Garda vetting means that your history is checked by the Garda Vetting Bureau to ensure that you will be a suitable candidate for working with vulnerable people such as children and the elderly.

The organisation will inform you of the process. Police checks/Garda Vetting can take some time, so where possible consider getting in touch with organisations ahead of the time you seek to start volunteering. A police check is carried out at no cost to the volunteer.

In some circumstances organisations might want to ensure that your results are returned before you can volunteer with them, but you will be advised about this should this situation arise.

To help us investigate and solve technical problems speedily, please outline the malfunction clearly and include the following information:

1) Which browser you are using (If you are unsure, find out here)

2) A screenshot of your screen before you encounter the problem and a screenshot of the error message

3) Your username or organisation name

Please email this information to your local HEI co-ordinator.

A new web based third level national database for volunteering & student-led engagement opportunities.

SV.ie will facilitate students to apply for volunteer opportunities to enrich their civic roles, personal development and employability skills; have a fun experience and made new life long friends; attain a Volunteer Certificate on completion from their institution; learn from community which could enhance academic learning; build personal knowledge and skills while contributing to the capacity of communities.

Yes, all third level higher education institutions are welcome to join our national collaborative programme at StudentVolunteer.ie! Please contact us through our Programme Manager, Dr Lorraine Tansey, lorraine.tansey@ul.ie for further details. 

HEI Members of StudentVolunteer.ie avail of the following:

• Online management tool to match your students with community.
• Connect with community organisations to develop your partnership work.
• Be part of a shared network for conferences, workshops and support to enhance your student volunteering expereinces.
• Encourages good practice and building capacity to support the management of volunteering opportunities and data to provide evidence on the quantity and quality of student volunteering activity.