On 14th February myself, Students’ Union staff and 19 of our student volunteers headed to Guys Farm for the Volunteer Development Programme. This programme was a chance for students to meet students involved in Students’ Union volunteering, develop their skills, and learn new things to help them with their roles as volunteers. Students from across Societies, Sports Teams, Academic Reps and those involved in volunteering projects attended the programme and I want to tell you all about it!
The programme began with a quick round of introductions so everyone could learn a little about everyone. The itinerary and house rules were then explained to the students before diving into the first activity. The first activity saw the students splitting into groups of 3 and 4 and heading outside for an orienteering session. The rain didn’t stop the students, they all worked fantastically in their groups to complete their course, each taking a different role to lead their team to success. The group then had a quick debrief of the session where they discussed how well they worked as a team and looked at the different roles each of them took. After this, the students had a chance to warm up, grab some lunch and get to know each other a little better before moving onto the next session which got the students looking at their strengths and weaknesses around volunteering and gave them a chance to reflect on their leadership skills and what kind of leader they are.
The next session was Lego series play - which was a massive hit with the volunteers. They all had a great time and some creatively was shown during the session. The volunteers worked in pairs to build different things which represented volunteering and what they thought made a great leader.
After all these activities the students had worked up an appetite. I headed to the kitchen to start preparing dinner whilst the students took part in the problem-solving activity. This session got students improving their non-verbal communication skills whilst as team to solve the problem-solving activity. Just as the activity finished dinner was served.
After dinner it was time for murder mystery. All students were assigned their character and given their bag of clothing and props to help them really get into character. Once all students were dressed in their new attire and given their game instructions and scrips it was time to begin the investigation into who killed Lord Heathcliff. Each student really got into character and had a fantastic evening participating in the murder mystery. Once complete it was time for the students to have some down time where they were able to socialise and get to know each other better and get a good night’s sleep for the next fun filled day of activity.
Breakfast was served 8am so students could get fuelled up for the day ahead. The first sessions were a goal setting session, mental health session and archery. Volunteers were split into 3 groups who spent 30 mins at each session before rotating to the next activity. The next session was a communication session. This session looked at ways to improve confidence when communication with people. The students were well engaged, and it was amazing to see their confidence grow throughout the session.
After a morning for hard work from the students it was time for some lunch before heading outside for the raft building session. For many this was the highlight of the programme. Volunteers were split into groups and set the task of building a raft. Some groups started off strong others took time to find their team dynamics before really getting into the task and working together effectively to build a raft for the team to pop in the water with the team onboard without falling in the FREEZING COLD water.
During the raft building session, it was amazing to watch the students using all the skills they had learnt throughout the programme to build a raft which only saw once group falling off into the water. However, after a little more communication between the group the team were able to get on the raft and paddle around without falling in.
After this session it was time for the students to head back to the house and get changed into warm dry clothes and pack to head back to Preston.
This programme was an amazing way for student volunteers to get to know each other and build on their skills and learn new skills to become the best volunteers they can be. Each student engaged well and gave each activity their all. It was amazing to see each student grow more confident over the period of the programme, make new friends and develop a range of skills. I hope they all had as much fun as me!