Ways to help others in your community

We know moving to university can be hard, especially when you have moved to a new town. If you are looking at ways to give back and give more to your community, look no further!

Volunteer

You can volunteer almost anywhere in your local community, whether it is helping the elderly, working in a charity shop or even supporting children at school. There are many ways in which you can help your local community and feel like you are making a change.

Give to and support charity

We don’t mean endless donations to charity, there are many ways you can help charity. You can volunteer (as above), donate clothing or food, supporting charities through visits and donations. There are many ways to help and we would suggest looking at your local charities to see how you can make a difference to them!

Check on neighbors (especially if living in a student house instead of halls)

We know this is not as easy when living in halls, however if you are in your own student home you are probably next to non-students. Be sure to check in on them, especially when winter approaches and see if you can support them in many ways. Elderly neighbors normally accept help in the winter, even if it is a quick trip to the shops for them. Plus, there is always a benefit of getting to know your neighbors better (they might be more accepting of your student parties)!

Support local and small businesses

You’ve probably heard it a million times before, shop small and support local businesses. Since the cost of living crisis has swept across the UK, the small and local business appreciates every customer they have. So next time you need your morning coffee on your way to lecture, choose a small or local business instead of Starbucks or Costa. You never know, you may find something you love more at one of these local businesses!

Fundraise

If you want to give a monetary donation to a charity or a community, but you don’t have the funds yourself, the next step is to fundraise! You can do this in many different ways but it does help if you set yourself a challenge. You can do anything from a 10K walk to a sponsered silence. You your imagination and challenge yourself whilst also supporting a local charity or community. They will appreciate any donation, big or small.

Donate blood

Blood donations may seem a little scary (especially if you are afraid of needles) however these donations are critical to helping people in the local hospitals. If you have enough courage, we would always suggest blood donations whenever there are donation drives in your local community. Your blood could go a long way to help different people!

Share your knowledge

Knowledge is a wonderful thing and you may have knowledge in a certain subject or passion that could help out in your community. You can help younger students by tutoring, you might be a whizz at crochet and can help the local arts and crafts groups, it could be anything. Have a look into what is going on in your new community and see where you can help out or join in.

Pick up litter

A less glamorous way to give back to your community but it is something that is highly appreciated by everyone around. You will find in most villages, towns and cities that there are groups that arrange litter picking, join one of these groups and head out for the day to improve the surrounding areas of your new community.

We hope this helps you to see how you can give back to your community and how you can help. Small acts of kindness and giving will go along way with the people you are surrounded with.