Taking part in community and volunteering projects is a great way to develop your skills while helping others and giving back. You can build your skills in areas from leadership to negotiation, or seek out opportunities to practice specific skills such as project management and advocacy.
If you're already doing any of these activities, use this page and the Skills Glossary to think about which skills you're developing, or evaluate your skills with the Skills Discovery Tool.
Get involved
There are many opportunities and projects in Cambridge, so look out for posters, emails and social media posts seeking volunteers. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
Mentoring
Many people at Cambridge take part in mentoring. The mentees are prospective students, often from a widening participation background, so your support could really boost their confidence and give them the encouragement they need to succeed. You'll also be building your own skills in mentorship, compassion and fostering inclusiveness.
You could become a mentor through initiatives such as:
- The SU Shadowing Scheme, introducing your mentee to student life during a 3 day stay in Cambridge.
- Zero Gravity or Project Access. You'll have regular virtual calls with your mentee to support them in applying for university.
- Head Up! Pairing school and university students with a disability or health condition, you'll be able to offer support based on your own experiences.
- Cambridge Widening Access to Medicine Society, offering support with medical school applications.
Outreach and student ambassadors
Whether you're leading tours, participating in Q&As or working at a summer school, you'll be helping prospective students get a feel for Cambridge. Getting involved in College or University outreach initiatives will build your communication, flexibility and leadership skills. You might also be paid for your time!
Check out your College's website or contact your JCR Access Officer to find out how to become a student ambassador for your College. If you're passionate about improving access to Cambridge, you could run for the Access Officer role on your JCR to work alongside College staff to run outreach schemes.
Apply to be a CAMbassador to support University-wide initiatives.
Fundraising
Fundraising for a cause you're passionate about develops your skills in persuasion, collaborative event management and advocacy. There are many different ways to do fundraising in Cambridge.
- Some societies, such as Cambridge RAG, Cambridge Pink Week and May Week Alternative, run regular events or annual drives.
- Other societies may hold fundraising events throughout the year. Find a cause you're passionate about by searching the SU society directory and filter by 'Political & Causes'.
- If you're a person of faith, see if there are fundraising opportunities through this. For example, the Islamic Society runs an annual Charity Week, and the Hindu Society help charitable causes.
- Put on your own fundraising event! Team up with friends or your JCR/MCR to run a bake sale, College bop or jumble sale for a charitable cause. This is a great way to show initiative.
You could also apply to be part of your College telephone fundraising campaign, which take place annually during vacations. Working as a caller, you will encourage alumni to donate College projects, building your communication and persuasion skills. Look out for emails from College for more information.
Volunteering
There are a variety of ways to get involved. While each role will build different skills, any volunteering demonstrates your integrity and ethical commitments. Think about what you're passionate about, and how you might like to help out.
- Sign up for Cambridge Student Community Action - students have been volunteering through the group since 1972! You can sign up to different projects working with children or elderly people.
- Volunteer with Cambridge Community Kitchen as a cook, cleaner or delivery cyclist to offer hot meals to anyone who needs them in Cambridge.
- Join a weekend convoy to volunteer with refugees in Calais with CamCRAG - check out this Varsity article to learn more about this. Find more student opportunities to support refugees through Cambridge Student Action for Refugees and Solidaritee, or through the Cambridge Refugee Hub.
- Looking for opportunities you can do at home? Contribute to open-source projects such as the Wikimedia community, citizen science projects or geospatial data projects.
Social entrepreneurship
Think you could come up with an idea that could have a positive social or environmental impact? Whether it’s a tech product or community project, you could get funding and support to make your social venture a reality while building your skills in enterprise, taking initiative and embracing uncertainty.
- Explore the Entrepreneurship activities page for more information about the entrepreneurship scene at Cambridge.
- Sign up to Trinity Hall Catalysts. Open to all students from any College, this hands-on programme will give you the skills, tools, and connections needed to create meaningful change.
- Join the Environmental Consulting Society to work on green projects such as Sustain-A-Ball, a scheme to reduce the environmental impact of May Balls.
- Check out the Entrepreneurship & Enterprise skills page to learn more about the skills you could develop.
Committee roles
Taking on a committee role is a great way to develop your collaboration and advocacy skills. There are many different committees you can join – the JCR/MCR, a College or University society and your College’s May Ball committee. Look for roles that involve advocating for a cause you care about, or a group you belong to. This could be Sustainability/Green Officer, LGBT+ Officer, Ethnic Minorites Officer or Access Officer. Discover more about the skills you could develop through these roles on the Societies and Committees page.
Armed Forces
Opportunities for students to engage in military, air and sea training can develop leadership, resilience and self-management skills. Find out more opportunities for armed forces students.