The volunteering team at Royal Holloway hosted its first virtual Community Partners’ Conference in September. The conference, which is usually held biennially on campus, supports local organisations who want to involve student volunteers with their activities and initiatives.

The theme this year was ‘Better Together’ and Paul Reddish from the volunteering policy and practice organisation, Volunteering Matters was this year’s keynote speaker. Paul talked about the impact of the pandemic on the sector and shared his experience of communities coming together to support one another. He also recognised the amazing volunteer response shown during this time, particularly by the younger generation.

Professor Paul Layzell, Principal of Royal Holloway, along with Deputy Principal, Professor Katie Normington shared their messages of support for the community partner organisations. They reinforced their commitment to continued support this coming academic year by students volunteering online and in person where safe to do so.

Approximately 30 delegates, including representatives from local charities, attended the digital conference, which was supported by Voluntary Support North Surrey. The event included online breakout workshops and virtual networking sessions,

Visit volunteering.royalholloway.ac.uk for more information about becoming a community partner.