22 February 2022

Be part of something bigger! Get involved in King's Global Day of Service 2022

Discover how you can give back and make a difference through volunteering this March

Collage of six images representing King's students, staff and alumni volunteering.

Each year in March, students, staff and alumni take part in a range of volunteering activities across the world for King’s Global Day of Service.

King’s Global Day of Service is on 25 March (in recognition of the day King’s was founded) but any volunteering activities that take place in March can contribute to our volunteering hours and demonstrate the positive impact that the King’s community has locally, nationally and internationally.

For Global Day of Service 2021, 544 volunteers from across 53 different countries spent 2,323 hours volunteering. We want to have even greater impact this year, so we are calling on students, staff and alumni to arrange or take part in a volunteering event this March.

'In service to society'

The vision of King’s College London is to make the world a better place, going above and beyond what might conventionally be expected of a university. To this end a commitment to Service is the third and equal part of the university’s academic mission, alongside Education and Research. Service at King’s embodies the university’s historic ethos of operating in ‘service to society’, manifested in a commitment to positive social impact at home in London, across the UK and around the world. A key way King's students, staff and alumni serve society and make a positive difference is through volunteering.

There are numerous ways that you can give back and meet the needs of King’s diverse communities through volunteering, while also developing your skills, making connections and improving your wellbeing. Evidence shows that volunteering even enhances your life satisfaction!

You might like to mentor a young person, lend a hand at a foodbank, take action on a sustainability campaign, or support an isolated person with their digital skills. You could also use Global Day of Service as an opportunity to organise an event for a charitable cause or lend your skills as a trustee for your local charity.

Visit the Service in Action webpages and download the Volunteer Inspiration Pack to discover a variety of volunteering opportunities and ideas for how you can make a positive difference.

If you undertake voluntary activities in March, make sure to log your volunteering hours by completing the short Global Day of Service Impact Form so we can keep track of our positive impact and celebrate your contributions.

If you already volunteer, that’s great! Your regular volunteering also counts as a part of our Global Day of Service activities, you just need to let us know by logging your hours via the Global Day of Service Impact Form.

Why volunteer?

Volunteering has been shown to improve wellbeing, reduce isolation and increase life satisfaction. It can be a way to enhance your sense of purpose and belonging, develop skills and experiences, and contribute meaningfully to communities.

The NHS wheel of wellbeing is a great tool to use when thinking about how volunteering can support your own health and happiness. We believe that volunteering should be mutually beneficial, so don't be afraid to choose an activity that prioritises your needs first. You can use the wheel to identify areas that are low in your life and match them with volunteering opportunities that help to strengthen those areas.

How can you get involved?

Organise or take part in a volunteering activity

Organise a volunteering activity, find a volunteering event to take part in or sign-up for some (or many!) exciting Global Day of Service events (see details below). You could sign up with your peers or colleagues as a team day!
Visit the Service in action webpages to discover a range of volunteering opportunities.
Download the Volunteer Inspiration Pack for some easy and safe ways that you can make a difference.
If you're a King's student, browse volunteering opportunities through the KCLSU Volunteering Record.

Sign-up for Global Day of Service events

Run for Good with King’s Sport

Join King’s Sport for a short run or walk, and a good deed! Sign-up below and further details will be sent via email before your run.

1.) 10, 17, 24 March, all 12.30 – 14.30: Euston Foodbank (Depart: Strand Campus)

Meet at King’s Strand gym to run or walk to the foodbank, spend an hour sorting and packaging food, then return back to continue your day.

2.) 22 and 23 March, both 8.45 – 14.00: Spring Community Hub (Depart: Guy’s Campus)

Meet at London Bridge Gym to run or walk to the community hub, welcome guests and organise clothing donations, and know you’ve helped to provide essential items to those who most need it in Southwark.

3.) 25 March, 10.00 – 14.00: The Remakery Garden Spring Clean (Depart: Denmark Hill)

Meet at the Gym Room on Denmark Hill Campus to head down to the Brixton gardens, and get stuck in weeding, mulching and preparing the growing beds for seeds and seedlings.

Don't want to run or walk? Pop along to Urban Growth's drop-in gardening sessions, every Thursday in Brixton!

Flex your green fingers at the Ruskin Park Community Garden

Volunteer at the Ruskin Park Community Garden in Camberwell (near the King’s Denmark Hill Campus), a space for the local community to learn about and help grow fruit and veg.

Friday 25 March, 13:00 – 16:00
Wednesday 30 March, 13:00 – 16:00
Sign-up via Microsoft Forms

Support budding young authors online

Volunteer in your own time online with the Orwell Youth Prize, a political and social justice-based writing prize for young people aged 12-18. Provide feedback across a variety of writing genres, including short stories, essays, poetry and journalism. The 2022 writing competition theme is ‘Coming Up For Air: Writing the Climate Crisis’.

These flexible and remote roles start in March and continue into April (if available).
Find out more about volunteering with the Orwell Youth Prize.
To help you prepare for this role, join a one-hour online induction on either Wednesday 16 March, 13:00 – 14:00, Wednesday 23 March, 17:30 – 18:30 or Monday 28 March, 13:00 – 14:00.
Please register your interest in volunteering for the Orwell Youth Prize with Tabby Hayward (Programme Coordinator): tabby.hayward@orwellfoundation.com

Make a life-saving blanket out of single-use plastics

Join LaiHa from King’s Community Business Services in this one-hour online workshop to make a life-saving blanket for the Crisp Packet Project, while also helping to tackle plastic pollution.

Tuesday 29 March, 12:00 – 1:15 (online event via Microsoft Teams)
Sign-up via Eventbrite

Embroider a patch for Mermaids UK

Stitch a solidarity gift this International Transgender Day of Visibility. Join King's alumna, staff member and artist Rosanna McNamara for a fun couple of hours and create keepsake patches for young people at the charity Mermaids. Never stitched before? Don’t worry! This event is open to all levels and materials will be provided.

Thursday 31 March, 10:00 – 12:00 (Strand) Sign-up
Thursday 31 March, 15:00 – 17:00 (Guy's) Sign-up

Share your Service story and log your volunteering hours

Get involved with King’s Global Day of Service on social media by sharing your photos and videos. Make sure to tag Service and Alumni on Twitter and Instagram by using @ServiceAtKings and @KCLalumni, and don’t forget to use the hashtags #ServiceAtKings and #ForeverKings.
Don’t forget to log your volunteering hours by completing the short Global Day of Service Impact Form so we can keep track of our positive impact and celebrate your contributions!

Spread the word

Share this news story among your networks and encourage others to get involved in King's Global Day of Service!

Further information

If you are a King's student or member of staff and need help promoting an event for King's Global Day of Service, contact the Service Team: service@kcl.ac.uk
If you are staff, remember you can use your Service Time (internal) during your working hours throughout March to contribute to King’s Global Day of Service by volunteering with an external charity, cause or community organisation.
If you are alumni and need further guidance or an information pack on taking part in Global Day of Service activities in your local area, contact the Alumni Team: volunteering@kcl.ac.uk

Volunteer for Sustainability

If you are a Sustainability Champion at King’s (based in an office or residence team) you can also use your volunteering activities as evidence in the Sustainability Champions workbook. By completing the below Service Time actions, they will help you obtain your target award levels.

Sustainability Dozen (this award level comprises 12 actions and is mandatory for all Sustainability Champions teams to complete): The Champions team must use half a day of Service Time (3.5 hours) to support a charity or community organisation. Each Champion writes a short case study (max. 300 words) on their volunteering and sends this to the Service and Sustainability Teams.

Bronze: The Champions team must use at least one Service Time day (or 7 hours) to support a charity or community organisation (remote volunteering is also encouraged).

Silver: The Champions must use at least two Service Time days (or 14 hours) to support a charity or community organisation (remote volunteering is encouraged).

Gold: The Champions team/individual champions have each used their three Service Time days (or 21 hours) to support a charity or community organisation.

Gold (optional): Arrange a Service activity or event across at least two Departments or Faculties at King's.

Check out other ways to volunteer with Sustainability. (Please note staff will not be able to use their Service Time on King's Sustainability activities, as Service Time is for external causes.)

Although in the UK people are no longer being asked to work or volunteer from home, the main priority should be to keep yourself and others safe. Before volunteering you should read the government guidelines for wherever you are, and changes are coming into effect from 1 April 2022 in the UK for anyone volunteering or working in regulated Care Quality Commission (CQC) settings, such as hospitals and care homes. You can read the UK government’s guidelines on how to help safely on the UK government website. If you are volunteering with a charity or community organisation, please also carefully read their health & safety guidelines.