News and Updates

By Robert Wheatley Humanitarian work is often regarded as extremely valuable: it’s knowing you’ve truly made a difference to people’s lives in places of unrest, and have acted altruistically to help those in need. What is more, having any form of volunteer work on your CV is a smart move, and one that can truly help you stand out among the crowd; especially, as with Aimone’s case, you desire to pursue humanitarian work. [Credit & person in photo: Aimone Sharif] Aimone Sharif

[Bryony Wharfe | Contributing Writer] On the 2nd June 2016 me and 10 other students from the University of Hertfordshire set off to Peru from Heathrow airport. 24 hours of plane journeys and stop offs later, we landed in Lima ready to enjoy the next 18 days. We applied to go on this trip earlier in the year through Herts Success, scheme run by Herts that gives disadvantaged students a chance to do things they may not have been able to do otherwise, and out of 60 applicants we

Image: Tom Boon [Kieran Burman | Contributing Writer] Annabel is sat at her desk, computer on and hockey ball in her stationery holder, you can see this isn’t where she’s comfortable though; she loves sport and everything about it: “There’s a buzz that playing sport gives you that you don’t get from anything else.” Office work can be fun – especially in the Students’ Union, but quite clearly not compared to sport, as far as she is concerned, and that resonates when she speaks

[Aimone Sharif | Sports Manager] Every year, BBC Sport brings the world of entertainment and sports together in search of raising money and awareness across the UK for vulnerable people inside and outside the country. It was Sports Relief year this year around, to celebrate the event from the 18th to the 20th of March, a series of sports trials, events and competitions were set to help raise money for charity. This one-day event has the beautiful result of uniting the UK as e

[Laura Slingo | News Editor] The University of Hertfordshire and Hertfordshire Students’ Union invited volunteers to join its litter picking event in South Hatfield, 11.00am-2.00pm on Tuesday 9th February, to clean up the rubbish left by littering in this area. The litter pick was a huge success. Eight volunteers took part on the day including two “Rezzi Rep” (Residential Representatives) volunteers, two SU volunteers, staff members from both the University and SU, a member o

This past week has been Volunteering Week for Hertfordshire Students’ Union, with daily activities on campus, online and in the local area. On Monday 19 October we launched the #HertsGoodDeeds initiative, inviting students to share their volunteering activities or to show their thanks for the kindness of someone else. Tomorrow is the launch of @hertsvolunteers Volunteering Week! We’ll be kicking things off with our #HertsGoodDeeds initiative, find us in the Forum Foyer from 1

Next week Hertfordshire Students’ Union are running Volunteering Week. This is a great opportunity for any student to get involved with the daily activities on campus, online, and in the local area. Vicky Flynn, Volunteering and Projects Coordinator, explained: “Volunteering Week is an opportunity for students to learn more about what Herts Volunteers do and how they can get involved. There is going to be various events running from Monday 19th to Sunday 25th of October, so l

[Kealie Mardell | Print Editor] One in seven UK charities are struggling to survive, says a recent report released by the Charities Aid Foundation and the Association of Chief Executives for Voluntary Organisations. Their survey of 572 charities showed that a third had dipped into their reserves to cover an income shortfall in the last year. “Charities are resilient and do adapt to a changing world,” said John Low, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation. “But it is v

[Jennie Couling | Contributing Writer] There are at least 22,000 people working as unpaid interns at any one time, according to Sutton Trust. Working for free not only means missing a wage, but research from the Confederation of British Industry calculates the average cost of an unpaid internship as £926 a month in London and £804 in Manchester. As internships can be the crucial difference between yours and someone else’s CV, many have argued that unpaid internships reward th

[Kat Clements | Contributing Writer] Carly Benton is Hertfordshire Students’ Union Assistant Student Activities Manager. She is in charge of a number of programmes including the Give It a Go! initiative. Carly has been working for the University for three years, having taken the job after her gap year. She did a degree in Sports Psychology but, after volunteering herself, she decided that she wanted to work in volunteering. The role has expanded since then to include charity

[Kealie Mardell | Print Editor] Time to Change is asking everyone to take five minutes on the 5th of February to have a conversation about mental health for Time to Talk Day. Whether you’re on campus, at work, at home, with friends or family, there are lots of ways to make your five minutes count. Having a mental health problem is hard enough, but sometimes the isolation and stigma can make it even worse, says Time to Change. We can all help to break the silence. You can log

[Taveena Atsu | Features Sub Editor] In the week’s Meet your Students’ Union, we have Bella Colafrancesco, Vice President  Student Activities! Here to represent your views when it comes to student activities, Bella looks after students involved in activities and around campus. From sports, societies, volunteering and charity to Herts Halls League and training opportunities, she’s here to help with it all. “One of aspect of the role is to develop initiatives to ensure that the

[Ifrah George | Contributing Writer] On the 28th of October, student volunteers from the University of Hertfordshire attended a one-off project in Borehamwood called Noah’s Ark Hospice. Noah’s Ark is an expanding children’s hospice service, seeking to serve an estimated 900 life-limited or life-threatened children or young people, and their families, living within the communities of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington. Their aim is to support these families, often

[Chloe Burrowes | Contributing Writer] Katy Perry blasting out of the speakers and cakes everywhere I turned, the Volunteering Fair definitely wasn’t the event I was expecting. On the 27th of October, an atmosphere of optimism and excitement seemed to fill the room, helped by the location of the busy Forum foyer. I spoke to several stands ranging from far flung expeditions to projects closer to home, yet all of them had one thing in common – a want to do something out of the