Blog Uncategorized Volunteering
Published: June 20, 2024 by LRwatkins
Undertaking a placement through my university course is something I knew I wanted to do as soon as I learnt about the opportunities they offered. I had heard plenty about the benefits: earning valuable, real-life experience, gaining hard skills, and making your CV standout. As a second-year BA Jt Hons Sociology and Social Policy student, these benefits were really appealing to me. Everyone wants a job straight out of university, and according to statistics that is significantly more likely if you undertake a placement! So that is what I did.
When exploring the range of placements on offer through my university, LGBT Foundation really stood out to me. Why? Because not only did the goals and values of the organisation directly align with my own, but they also offered a role which really appealed to my interests – a Marketing and Communications Internship! Media, marketing, and communications are roles which I have always found interesting – and considering LGBT foundation’s range of work with the Equality Panel and their ‘Vote with Pride’ campaign, I felt that this placement was the perfect combination of my interests.
As soon as I began my 3-week placement I was met with friendly faces, a warm atmosphere, and plenty of tasks to get stuck into. Due to the range of services and support they offer, the work that I was able to undertake was wide ranging, ensuring that I always felt engaged in the work I was doing.
During my placement I was able to:
One thing I really appreciated during my placement here was their consideration around my workload, with regular check-ins and genuine consideration around what skills I wanted to gain from my time with them. This consideration is not something that was limited to their interns, with there being a range of campaigns and teams that volunteers could work with. I found that this made working here super enjoyable and beneficial for everyone!
Overall, I really loved the time that I spent with LGBT Foundation. The experience I gained aided me with sector-specific knowledge and hard skills, allowing me to explore different areas and tasks to discover what I truly enjoyed. This really helped me to reflect on skills I already had, and other skills which I could develop, improving myself and my employability.
My experience here helped me to realise that this is something I would love to do in the future, and expanded my understanding of what working in the charity sector is like. I am so grateful that I undertook this experience, and it is definitely something I would recommend to anyone who is interested in expanding their skill set/exploring a new area of work. Working here has been such a joy, and anyone would be lucky to work alongside LGBT Foundation and their committed, welcoming team.
-Leah Russon Watkins
