Volunteering

Volunteering is an excellent way to meet new people, give something back to society, expand on your learning, and best of all, to have fun.

Where can you volunteer?

There is a wide range of volunteering opportunities available for NUI Galway students and staff, including:

• Volunteering with young people
• Volunteering with the environment
• Volunteering with older people
• Volunteering with people with special needs
• Social volunteering
• Events volunteering

If you know of an organisation or area that you want to work in, please let us know.  We are always looking to expand the range of organisations we have on our database, so your input is vital to us.

Volunteering on campus

There are a number of ways you can volunteer on campus, including:

• Becoming a Student Connect Mentor
• Joining a society or sports club
• Getting involved in Flirt FM (the University radio station) or Sin the college newspaper
• Becoming a Class Representative

Volunteering off campus

As an NUI Galway student, you can volunteer with a huge variety of community organisations, including:

• Big Brother, Big Sister 
• Riding for the Disabled 
• Homework clubs 
• Gaf Youth Cafe 
• Simon Community 
• Community Gardens

You can see the full list of volunteering opportunities here.

ALIVE Programme

The ALIVE Programme (A Learning Initiative and the Volunteering Experience) was set up by NUI Galway to harness, acknowledge and support the contribution its students make by volunteering. The programme helps students who want to develop tangible and transferable skills while they are gaining practical volunteering experience.

ALIVE services

ALIVE offers a number of services to students, including matching volunteers to community organisations, running training workshops and giving volunteers the chance to meet up and share their experiences.

ALIVE Certificate

The ALIVE Certificate recognises your contribution to volunteering and is a great addition to your CV.
For more information on the programme and a list of ways to volunteer, contact ALIVE.

Community Knowledge Initiative

The Community Knowledge Initiative encourages more civic engagement through teaching, research and volunteering among NUI Galway students, staff and the wider community.
It has four basic elements:

• Research - Regenerating links with community through research 
• Student Volunteering - Developing NUI Galway as a role model in volunteering 
• Service/Community - Based Learning - Establishing NUI Galway as a pioneer of service learning programmes

Knowledge Sharing - Using NUI Galway's knowledge to better its academic staff, employees, students and the wider community
Learn more about the Community Knowledge Initiative here.

Learn more

For more information on ALIVE, contact:

• Lorraine Tansey
  Student Volunteer Coordinator
  T +353 (0)91 495 346