We believe that every student should participate in social action, positively impacting their community at university and beyond.
High quality student social action has the potential to benefit all three of these groups:
Students
gain skills (including project management, leadership and time management), frontline experience tackling social and environmental issues, and professional experience working on projects or in social impact organisations.
Communities
are able to engage with young people that have the time, energy and skills to have a positive impact on the social challenges we all face.
Universities
benefit from an enhanced student experience, strengthened community relations, and more employable graduates who are more likely to give back to their educational institution in the future.
The demand for our work from young people is high.
Today’s teenagers are more engaged with social issues than ever before, and this interest continues into adulthood.
Introducing Generation Citizen, Demos 2014, pp.51-52
Our own research shows that students think universities should be doing more to tackle social and environmental issues, and that supporting social action activities should be a core part of what they do.
Students, Volunteering and Social Action in the UK, Student Hubs 2014, p.29
However, only:
62%
of students see volunteering as a mainstream activity
30%
of students volunteer
Universities do not have the resources to tackle this problem alone. Recent research highlights the need for a national infrastructure to ensure the sustainability of student social action. Infrastructure support has fluctuated from decade to decade. Various organisations have provided some level of sustained support, but funding has been unreliable.
Students, Volunteering and Social Action in the UK, Student Hubs 2014, p.29
The problem remains to this day: the Higher Education sector does not have the expertise or resources to support social action activities that are cost-effective, able to give students the opportunity to engage with a national network of likeminded young people, and able to achieve maximum impact for students and communities.
Student Volunteering in England: A Critical Moment, Education + Training 2001, Darwen & Rannard, Vol. 53, p.17-18
Student Hubs exists to fill this gap.
Need for our work
Experienced team
Power of the network
We provide the expertise and a national network that enables us to support social action programmes in multiple locations at high cost efficiency.
Our organisation was established by students committed to improving the delivery of student social action, and our staff team all have first hand experience of planning, implementing and evaluating projects that bring students and the community together.
Our Hubs benefit from the opportunities to share learning and resources across our network, and students have the unique experience of being part of a wider movement for high-impact social action.
The support of an experienced, cost-effective and driven national infrastructure organisation, like Student Hubs, is vital. And we believe that our unique approach enables us to pursue our mission better than any other organisation.
Student Hubs