Volunteering a strong focus at AUT
Over 14,660 hours of volunteering have now been logged by AUT students doing the AUT Edge Award – an extraordinary amount of volunteering in the community by AUT students.
Over 230 students attended the Volunteering Expo at AUT, and the 18 volunteering organisations at the expo were delighted with the turnout and the number of volunteers they signed up.
AUT encourages volunteering because it helps to build students’ skills and their awareness of the communities around them. It also improves their CV, their communication skills, team work, resilience and problem solving.
50 hours of volunteering is a requirement of the AUT Edge Award, which helps students increase their employability and leadership skills, improve their networks and get New Zealand work experience.
“This is only the second time we’ve run a volunteering expo, and it is by far the biggest,” says employability relationship manager Annabel Reyes, who organised the expo.
“One organisation said they had a target to speak with 20 potential volunteers. By the end of the expo they had spoken to over 100. It has been a privilege to connect these essential and varied community organisations with eager young people who can help them achieve their mission.”
The range of volunteering options covered at the expo were endless – from mentoring young people with disabilities for Recreate NZ and working on cultural festivals for ATEED to volunteering for Coastguard or cleaning up waterways for EcoMatters.
The next Volunteering Expo will be held at AUT in August.
Contact AUT Employability and Careers
To find out more about offering volunteering opportunities to AUT students or to participate in employability and career events, email autemploy@aut.ac.nz