Mekailah & Sean – Crime Stoppers Sunshine Coast
Mekailah – Universtiy of the Sunshine Coast – Crime Stoppers 4.5 years
Sean – University of the Sunshine Coast – Crime Stoppers 1.5 years
Tell us about your volunteering experience!
So far it has been a great experience of making new friends and getting to know our community more. We have had the pleasure of getting to raise money during our bowling events and raising awareness about crime stoppers in the older community. We have also had great opportunities to join the emergency service events and teach people from all walks of life the importance of crime stoppers and the difference between us and police.
What drew you to volunteering as a student?
Mekailah: When I joined, I was looking for a way to give back to my community that aligned with my values and my degree. But I also thought the only way I could share what I learnt about understanding crime was to be working in the community. It has been an amazing learning and teaching experience for example, I got to teach our committee about crime mapping and aligning it with the police stats and crime stoppers numbers.
Sean agrees but adds that seeing Mekailah involved in a community and having lots of fun, was also an influential factor to get involved and volunteer at Crime Stoppers.
What made the role appealing as a student volunteer?
Mekailah: I think what drew me in, if I am honest was how welcoming the team was to have a young person on board; and how focus driven they were because they already had the year planned out with several events that had purpose.
Also, sometimes there is food and as a poor Uni student, food is life, and we will go where there is free food. (Sean agrees)
What advice would you give to other students who are new to volunteering
Our advice would be, join something that aligns with your values and passions! You will love it. Be open to learning from your older committee members because they hold valuable lessons plus, they make great friends!
Do not ever feel guilty about the hours you can or cannot put in. You still have other priorities in your life, and your committee will understand. Do as many hours as you have the energy to do, and you can raise or lower it as you need.
It is also the responsibility of the committee to be flexible as that is what helps to keep young people who have busy lives on board!
Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity!
We love volunteering with Crime stoppers. Our committee is like our family and life would not be the same without them.
Share your story
We want you to share your inspirational volunteering story!
We can all agree that the work student volunteers do is incredibly important. Volunteering has so many benefits, including gaining skills important to future employers, while making a positive impact on individuals, communities and the planet. So what’s not to smile about!
We want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience, and we will highlight it during NSVW through our socials and on our website to showcase the rich diversity of people in the student volunteering community as well as the myriad of volunteer opportunities available.
So go on! Be an inspiration to those around you. Jump on your Insta, Twitter or Facebook, share photos, videos, and written stories and tag us @AusNSVW using #NSVW22 and #NationalStudentVolunteerWeek
