It’s National Volunteers’ Week!

Posted on: 31 May 2023 by Development and Alumni Relations team in 2023

National Volunteers’ Week has come around again and at the University we are excited to celebrate the wonderful volunteers who have given their time to support us in the past 12 months. Just this year more than 1200 volunteers have donated more than 6800 hours of their time – it’s been a very busy year for our alumni volunteers!

In the past year, many alumni have given their time to organise class reunions. At the University, we have welcomed back graduates from many class years and subjects, including Medics from Class of 1972, French alumni from Class of 1980, Civil Engineering graduates from 1975 (pictured below) and the Sloman Loungers. Reunion organisers put a lot of effort into planning activities and bringing alumni together, and these events could not have happened without them. We are also very grateful for alumni who have promoted class giving to their reunion groups to support our Student Fund, raising more than £1500!

Among this year’s key alumni events organised by volunteers, we cannot fail to mention the 2023 University of Liverpool Veterinary Association (ULVAA) Ball in March. With more than 160 attendees, it has been one of the largest events organised by ULVAA and it successfully combined the 2023 Barrie Edwards Memorial Lecture, given by Dr Sean Wensley, with a dinner dance in the beautiful Liverpool Town Hall.

The ULVAA Committee has also been looking after many other activities, such as offering grants to enhance the student experience, attending the Careers Fair at the Leahurst campus, participating in accreditation activities with the School, promoting the John Tandy Final Year Student Award and much more. This year, some key members of the committee will be stepping down from their roles and we want to use this opportunity to thank them for many years of support. Robin, Nicola and Harvey have been pillars of the Veterinary Alumni Association, and they have taken some time to tell us what they have enjoyed the most from their roles in our recent Volunteer Spotlights.

• Read the full stories: hear from Robin, Nicola and Harvey.

School of Medicine alumni have also been giving their time to support teaching, recruitment activities and more. For example, some alumni have returned to the campus to deliver talks to the students, such as Keith Wilkinson; others got involved by advising on the curriculum and teaching, like John Taylor; and others, like Kaylea Clark have supported the clinical assessments, and much more!

Volunteers have also given their time to support other Schools and, in particular, Management School alumni have been very busy this year as the School celebrates its 20th anniversary. Thanks to the support of our fantastic international volunteers 15 events took place in May to celebrate 20 years of ULMS in different cities across the globe, including Lisbon, Lagos, Munich, Port Harcourt, Riyadh, Toronto, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Abuja, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and Guangzhou. Over 700 graduates attended the anniversary events! It was truly special to celebrate this occasion with alumni around the world and it would not have been possible without the enthusiastic help of local alumni volunteers.

ULMS Around the World in Hong Kong

ULMS Around the World in Munich, Germany

ULMS Around the World in Lagos, Nigeria

However, international activities didn’t stop here! Alumni networks have also continued to meet with regular meetings taking place across the year in Nigeria, Singapore, Malaysia and Canada. The alumni team has also been excited to welcome two networks, in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

This has also been a busy year for alumni volunteers in China, who gave their time to support 23 events since last summer, some online and some face-to-face. The events covered a variety of topics and themes, ranging from flower arrangement, wine tasting and the FIFA World Cup, to unconscious bias, dental health, marriage law and much more! Alumni’s contribution was key to make these events possible and graduates shared ideas, knowledge and resources to bring the alumni community together.

ULMS Around the World in Shanghai, China

Many joined us for events in person this year, but we also had a varied and exciting programme of online events supported by our alumni volunteers, including five Liverpool Leaders events and our monthly Bringing the World to Liverpool talks.

• Watch the recordings here.

And the list goes on! Graduates have been supporting activities in all corners of the University, including Career and Employability events and initiatives, student enterprise activities, the Garstang Museum, the Law Clinic, mentoring programmes online and in person, and much more.

While we could not list all activities and initiatives, we are extremely thankful for all the support that our volunteers have given to our students, staff, and alumni community. On behalf of the University of Liverpool, we would like to say a big thank you to all volunteers who have given their time to help the University community! Your support has a long-lasting impact and allows our students and our alumni community to thrive.

Keep up with how we are marking this year’s National Volunteers’ Week by following us on Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram and LinkedIn.

If you would like to find out about the volunteering opportunities available, check out our volunteering offer.