LSE marks its third Global Day of Volunteering
LSE celebrated the positive impact volunteering has on the world on Thursday 13 February at its annual Global Day of Volunteering.
Passionate about making a difference within their local communities, LSE alumni, staff and students generously donated their time through a range of activities to support various causes and charities.
Find out what your fellow alumni did to mark the day:
UK/Europe
There was much activity taking place on and around campus. Alumni, staff and students dropped by the Alumni Centre to write letters against isolation for people living in care homes.
Walking around Holborn and the Strand, eight of our generous community braved the cold weather and rain and joined the Alumni Engagement team for a litter pick, helping to tidy up the local streets of London.
In support of Notre Dame Refugee Centre, we also hosted a clothes and toiletries bank in the Alumni Centre, where our community donated items to help support and provide a warm welcome to refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.
Americas
The LSE Alumni Association in Colombia undertook a meaningful hike and soil restoration activity in collaboration with innovative social start-up LiveHappy. Seven alumni, along with some family members, joined the day to support Colombian Parks and natural reserves as catalysts for environmental and social change.
The Canadian Friends of LSE (CFLSE) Toronto Chapter supported food and shelter charity Good Shepherd Ministries with sorting food for those in need. 10 alumni volunteers joined the activity to help prepare and serves meals to hundreds of attendees.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers from the CFLSE Toronto Chapter who participated in this initiative. We would also like to thank the staff at Good Shepherd Ministries for inviting us to help out with their charitable causes.
Supporting emergency family shelter Sullivan House, our Alumni and Friends of the LSE in the United States (AFLSE) Washington DC Chapter, helped clean, sort pantries, make an inventory of key supplies and organise children’s books and games.
LSE Global Day of Volunteering provided an opportunity for our alumni to be active and to give back to our local community. Our participants built connections with each other whilst engaging in our service project and now have meaningful connections with the charity we were assisting. Already, at least one of our alumni participants has reached out to the organisation to volunteer further with their cause.
Asia
The LSE Alumni Association in India hosted an online discussion for alumni in Kolkata on the impact of volunteering, inspiring others to get involved. 15 participants and guests joined to learn about the volunteering experiences of our alumni speakers and about opportunities to get involved.
Supporting the future of humankind and wildlife, the LSE Alumni Association Mumbai and Western India joined a beach clean hosted by Carter Cleanup in Bandra. Five LSE alumni connected with over 300 volunteers from various Mumbai colleges, building a sense of responsibility towards the environment.
In Singapore, our LSE Alumni Association were keen to raise awareness about food wastage, so invited members and the wider alumni community to sustainability-focused social enterprise MoNo for a fulfilling morning of activities. 18 alumni and friends joined the activities, totalling 72 volunteering hours, to gain a deeper understanding of food waste, participate in a sustainability workshop and support a donation drive by loading and distributing food.
Thank you to everyone who got involved and helped Shape the World through volunteering. If you participated in any volunteering during February, please let us know.
