ReachOut! hits campus to recruit volunteers.

As freshers get settled into student life, ReachOut!'s recruitment for its volunteer projects began this week. With over 100 volunteer places to fill, the term time projects will begin in a few months.

This year ReachOut! is excited to announce some changes to it's projects, building on the success of previous years and offering more volunteering opportunities than ever before.

Now in its eighth year, the ReachOut! Club (previously known as the Midweek Mentoring Project) is being run in 8 schools and recruiting over 100 volunteers. The mentoring programme runs across primary schools in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, once a week during term time.

A change to the ReachOut! Club this year is its co-ordination. Last year found the charity running a few projects with student volunteer coordinators, having previously used only paid employees for the role. Following from the success of this, over 90% of this year's projects will be run by volunteers, a move that has introduced huge opportunities for both the charity and the volunteers.
Chantelle, a history student at Queen Mary, volunteered on an MMP during her 2nd year, at Cayley Primary School in Stepney Green. The one to one aspect of the sessions is something that really stoods out from her experience; 'most of all it was working with a child on a regular basis, getting to know them and seeing them improve, especially their confidence levels'. Chantelle is going on to run a project herself.

The ReachOut! Academy is new to the ReachOut! timetable this year. The project is loosely based on what used to be the Soccer School. It will run at The Petchey Academy in Hackney for children and young people aged 7-16. As well as academic work, the sessions include football, arts and crafts and dance.

Both programmes are particularly suited to students for a number of reasons; taking up just one afternoon or evening a week, volunteers can fit the sessions in around their studies. It is also a chance for students who have come from outside of London to get away from campus and get to know the local area. As each school is assigned a team of volunteers, it is a great way to mix with students from other courses and from institutions across London while enhancing CVs, gaining valuable skills in leadership, communication and teamwork. Students are an invaluable asset to ReachOUt! and their commitment and enthusiasm run alongside the core aims of the charity.


Those interested can register to become a mentor on the website www.reachoutuk.org or come and see us at Queen Mary Freshers' Fair on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd.