National student volunteering centre opens

29 Sep 2011 News

A student volunteering organisation based in Oxford has moved into a building which it hopes will act as national centre to encourage student volunteering and involvement in social enterprise.

A student volunteering organisation based in Oxford has moved into a building which it hopes will act as national centre to encourage student volunteering and involvement in social enterprise.

Student Hubs is a national charity which supports student volunteering activity by offering free training advice about how to run a volunteering project or organise a conference for those running branch hubs based in universities.

It launched in Oxford in 2007 and there are now branch hubs at universities in Bristol, Southampton, Cambridge and Warwick.

Student Hubs now hopes to expand and become a sort of umbrella body for student volunteering groups.

Social enterprise co-ordinator, Freddie Williams, told civilsociety.co.uk that Student Hubs had been set up because student volunteering opportunities was something that “Oxford was really lacking” and added that with the new building, “we are in the process of putting out a call to action to volunteering groups in other universities”.

The new building, which is leased from the city council, will also be home to Oxford-based student charities KEEN, Jacari, SRSH, Student Switch Off, and People & Planet.

It also has two meeting rooms, a living room and a library and on the ground floor of the building there is a café which will operate as a social enterprise and raise money to support the work of the charity.

Community and venue manager, Hannah Martin, said: “The point about this venue is that whatever people are doing - whether it's eating, drinking, reading, attending a seminar or putting together a volunteering project - students and members of the community will be doing it together.”

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