Volunteering England has a long history of promoting volunteering in the further education sector, particularly through its events, research, and publications to support FE student volunteering, including The Art of Crazy Paving.

FE colleges are uniquely positioned to promote volunteering and improve their local community. Volunteering England’s dedicated 2012 team and sports development manager work closely with volunteer centres to develop sports-based and Games-inspired volunteering. Both report that volunteering from FE students and the cooperation of FE colleges can play a major role in their spheres of work.

Volunteering England is currently developing a set of practical tips and strategies to promote partnerships between volunteer centres, FE colleges and local authorities. The project will result in a series of easy-to-use toolkits that outline useful ideas for collaboration and offer solutions to common problems. To view existing material, including case studies, click here.

National campaigns, such as Volunteering England’s Student Volunteering Week, are an excellent opportunity to engage FE colleges, staff and students in this all sector-engaging campaign to raise awareness of the value of student volunteering for the student, college, community and business.

2011 is a key year for student volunteering. Not only is it the 10th anniversary of Student Volunteering Week but also the European Year of Volunteering 2011 and the UN International Year of the Volunteer plus Ten campaign. If you wish to be added to the contact list for the campaign please contact Volunteering England.

If you would like advice about volunteering or how Volunteering England can help you with your volunteering activities, please contact Jack Harrington, Further Education Senior Officer at Jack.Harrington@volunteeringengland.org or on 020 7520 8925.