Community FAQ

Top 5 Tips for Making an Attractive Volunteering Opportunity Post

1. Audiovisual Content in the Role: An opportunity looks much more appealing and tangible when there is actual images or footage used within the post that shows the opportunity in action.
2. Language: Positive, fun and upbeat language is best. Avoid “volunteer required” or “volunteer needed” and instead try “volunteer welcome”.  Keep language clear and to the point so that it is easy for the student to ascertain what the opportunity entails. Keep text to a minimum so they can quickly browse the role and figure out exactly what is involved and what will they be doing.
3. Time Requirement: If the role is flexible – state this! By being very precise and clear as to what the time expectations for the role are, e.g. days of week and hours, students can understand if they should choose a one-time slot; or need to be available for multiple time slots, for example.
4. Tasks: List the skills of each task that the volunteer will be engaged with so that the student can understand not only the sort of tasks but how they might have those skills. For example, a retail volunteer role could also be described as – volunteers are welcome to help the charity shop by chatting to customers in order to help them to navigate the shop and find their ideal purchase!
5. General Benefits: Why not list some of the subject areas that students might be studying to show them the link to the particular role and explain how the experience would benefit them in their career development or as active citizens in our communities.

What does Studentvolunteer.ie expect from us, as a community organisation?

Most importantly, we need our partner organisations to ensure the integrity of Studentvolunteer.ie and to provide a positive experience for the student.

The following is designed to enable the partner organisation with these endeavours:

• 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 ALIVE Certificate.

Can I join your ALIVE Mailing list?

Yes, please do! Click the blue subscribe button and enter your email address for updates from ALIVE and StudentVolunteer.ie

We do not need volunteers at the moment, but I know we will at some point in the future. What do I do?

We very much welcome the opportunity to partner with your organisation now or in the future.  If you do not have a volunteer opportunity at the moment but want to keep in touch, please get in touch with us at studentvolunteering@universityofgalway.ie, and we can add you to our mailing list for events and keeping in touch.

We are a very small organisation, but we could do with volunteers.  Can we register?

The simple answer is yes!  Studentvolunteer.ie welcomes volunteering opportunities from the very smallest to the very largest organisation.  Each volunteer opportunity helps Studentvolunteer.ie to promote volunteering, active citizenship and civic engagement.  We are delighted to have you on board.  

Will Studentvolunteer.ie support one-off volunteer opportunities?

Absolutely. If you have a volunteer opportunity, we are very happy to promote it. However, it is up to your organisation to contact the student on receipt of expression of interest.

Does Studentvolunteer.ie train or carry out Garda vetting for students to be volunteers?

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

Who can I contact to learn more?

Student volunteers are supported at University of Galway through the ALIVE programme.  You can contact studentvolunteering@universityofgalway.ie to meet and discuss volunteering opportunities for your organisation!!