Daniel Cater is a BSc Computer Science student. He volunteers as a Senior CyberMentor at Beatbullying & an Ask Brook Volunteer at Brook.
Since I started studying at UCL, I have taken up 2 volunteering roles with different charities. I am a Senior CyberMentor for Beatbullying, and an Ask Brook Volunteer for Brook. Beatbullying is a bullying prevention charity helping young people under 25. Brook is the young person’s sexual health charity which also helps under-25s.
The Beatbullying CyberMentors programme aims to provide support for young people online, with that support coming from young people themselves. As a Senior CyberMentor, I mentor young people online who have been victims of bullying, either in person or online. The training is very good and the mentoring can be done from anywhere with a computer. The recommended minimum committment is two hours per week.
The Ask Brook team at Brook provide information, support and signposting for young people who have questions and concerns about sexual health and relationships. Anyone under 25 can anonymously ask a question online, over the phone or via text. Everything is responded to and is done so confidentially. The training I received was excellent and really thorough. Everyone in the office is very friendly and helpful, and I’ve learnt so much from them. The recommended minimum committment is 4 hours per fortnight.
I would recommend anyone with some spare time to look into volunteering. It’s fun and you will meet some great people and learn a lot. I’ve put myself into some completely new situations and learnt how deal with difficult problems. The experiences have given me lots of material for interviews as well! Each role has also led me onto other things within the charities. I’ve helped train up new CyberMentors at Google’s London headquarters and pitched to JLS on behalf of Brook to secure a large donation from their charitable foundation and had articles in The Metro and The Sun. You’ll build up a good set of contacts whilst volunteering which will be useful when looking for jobs and references.