To celebrate Student Volunteering Week, we want to introduce you to our newest Fundraising Group!
Our University of Birmingham Fundraising Group was set up earlier this year and we’d like to introduce Nikhila, who played a very important role. She’s currently a medical student at the University of Birmingham and has chosen to use her free time to support Birmingham St Mary’s…..
I really wanted to do something with my free time, so I registered my interest to volunteer at the Hospice via the Guild website. The Fundraising Volunteer Co-ordinator at Birmingham St Mary’s got in touch to say she was interested in setting up a fundraising group at the University. We met up in November to discuss setting it up and that’s how it all started!
I have volunteered at a hospital and disabled people’s home before, but have never been involved in fundraising, so this is definitely a new challenge! Being a part of a fundraising group essentially involves working in a small team to organise events. We are currently planning our first event which is a pub quiz, which involves a lot of brainstorming, delegating roles, booking venues, chasing down prizes, publicity, and so on. Luckily, we have a great committee and lots of support from the Hospice, so this makes it all easier!
Being part of the University of Birmingham Fundraising Group is a great way to meet new people and learn new skills. I am constantly developing skills such as communication, teamwork, social media optimisation, organisation and creativity without even realising it! The fact that you’re making even a small positive impact in the society makes it extremely worthwhile.
If you have been inspired by Nikhila to take up volunteering alongside your studies, find out more about our volunteer roles here!