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Information for community partners

Supporting the connection between our students and the local community.

Oxford Brookes Volunteer Centre aims to act as a link between students and the local community. We promote engaging volunteering opportunities, enabling students to share their skills and enthusiasm.

Who are our volunteers?

There are approximately 18,000 students at Oxford Brookes University. We promote volunteering inclusively, advertising to all students and recent graduates. We’re proud that our students come from a diverse and wide range of backgrounds and cultures. Students can bring a range of skills, experience and help increase the capacity of your organisation.

Top tips when working with students

  • Students are flexible, but do fit volunteering around their academic studies and other commitments - such as part-time work.
  • The academic year is split into two semesters. A high number of students leave Oxford and return home during University vacations. Please refer to our semester dates.
  • Students have an intense assessment period in December and June, so activity may drop off at these times.

How can we support you?

We offer a free brokerage service to promote mutually beneficial volunteering roles in the local area. Please take a look at our Volunteering Policy. We also run on-campus events, such as our annual Volunteer Fair in October and Volunteer Fridays.

We have a weekly newsletter where we can promote your opportunities and also on social media.

The Volunteer Centre is an established part of the student experience at Oxford Brookes, but we’re keen to develop ideas with you! If you have any queries or would like to discuss further opportunities, please do get in touch at volunteering@brookes.ac.uk.

Register with us

How to use the Oxford Brookes Volunteer Portal

Team Kinetic provides our Volunteer Portal. Team Kinetic have put a tutorial video together on how to use the portal.

  • Once you have registered on our portal, please click on the ‘Need volunteers?’ box. 
  • Complete the registration form and you’ll be ready to add your opportunities.

Once you add your opportunities, we will get an email to approve the opportunity. We may email or call you to get more details.

Once the opportunity has been approved, students can start applying by clicking on apply. You will receive an email when a student is interested in the opportunity. Please contact the student as soon as you can.

To give the opportunity a push, we can add it to our weekly Volunteer Newsletter and onto our social media platforms.

Check out NCVO’s top tips to attract student volunteers and make your opportunities stand out.

Please be aware that we are unable to advertise the following on our Volunteer Portal:

  • Roles that could be classed as voluntary work. Please note we adopt NCVO’s definition of volunteering: ‘any activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individual or groups) other than, or in addition to, close relatives.’ We expect all community partners to adhere to these guidelines. You can find further guidance about the distinction of volunteering and voluntary work on the NCVO website.
  • National or international roles. We aim to support the local community and continue to make Oxford and its surrounding areas even better places to live!
  • We will need more information if the student is volunteering in a service user's home.
  • Enterprises - we want not-for-profit work only.
  • Paid opportunities.