Student Volunteering Week: City St George’s students volunteer at baby bank and local community centre

Cleaning up at the Peel Community Centre

International Politics student Annabelle Pollack said she decided to take part in the one-off volunteer session at local community centre The Peel as it was a great chance to give back to the community while balancing her busy schedule.

“Like many other students juggling university and part-time jobs, I was looking for a way to give back to the community without committing to a long-term volunteer role.”

Annabelle joined other students to help clean up the outdoor facilities at The Peel in preparation for the spring season.

Students cleaned up litter, sorted recycling, removed invasive plants, collected leaves and organised items. On her time volunteering with her fellow students, Annabelle said:

“I had an incredible experience at the centre. Although I was initially nervous about attending a volunteer session alone, I realised that the presence of other like-minded students who shared the same desire to give back to the community brought me comfort.

Helping local families at Camden Baby Bank

On Friday 14 February student volunteers headed to Little Village in Camden and helped out at the baby bank. Little Village takes donations of baby items and assembles bundles for families in need across London.

Volunteers sorted through hundreds of pencils and crayons to create craft packs and freshened up donated toys to give them a new lease of life. The volunteers also sorted donated baby clothes to create pre-packed bundles for families referred to the centre.

Learning how to engage Gen Z in volunteering

On Wednesday 12 February, City St George’s welcomed those working in the charity sector, higher education and volunteer centres to discuss how to better connect with the next generation of changemakers.

The panel featured experts in volunteering and social impact, including:

• Dr Angela Ellis Paine, Lecturer in Voluntary Sector Management at the Centre for Charity Effectiveness, Bayes Business School
• Fin Wright, Head of Brand, Marketing and Communications at the 93% Club
• Pippy Stephenson, Volunteer Coordinator at the Imperial War Museums
• Zayden Hipgrave, Youth Councillor at Islington Youth Council

Student Volunteering Week 2025

For students looking to find out more about the voluntary sector, the team hosted a session on demystifying international volunteering, a workshop with North London charity KEEN on volunteering for students' careers and a panel event on employability and Students’ Union elections.

The School of Health and Psychological Sciences hosted a volunteering fair, open to all students, to meet charities across a range of causes including education, children and young people.

On the success of the week, Community Volunteering Officer Freya Thompson said:

“Student Volunteering Week takes place every February, aiming to encourage more students to try out volunteering for the first time. This year, the volunteering team put on several events, both on and off campus, which saw over 200 students attend. There truly was something for everyone to get involved with throughout the week and students could feel like they had made a real difference.”