Leeds University Union is committed to working closely with the local community in Leeds. We run a series of community based projects, as well as facilitate a large number of volunteering clubs and societies, that have a hugely positive impact on the local area.
Knowledge brings together the students unions, universities, police and council across Leeds, providing students with advice on safety and crime prevention.
The Knowledge website has some practical tips on how to avoid crime in Leeds, as well as useful contact details and news updates.
The Bardon Grange Project is coordinated by the Union, and based on grounds near Oxley Halls. They run an organic allotment, which helps students and local residents, grow their own produce. The project is run all year round, holding weekly gardening classes and special seasonal events.
Employees and volunteers at the Bardon Grange Project are also engaged with the wider community, by running classes at local schools and helping to plant flowerbeds around the city.
Click here for more information on the Bardon Grange Project, including upcoming events and how to get involved.
Leave Leeds Tidy is coordinated by LUU and is a partnership between the University of Leeds, Leeds Met Students' Union, UNIPOL, Leeds City Council, Inner North West Area Committee and the Hyde Park Neighbourhood Policing team.
Its aim is to reduce the impact of student changeover on the local community, while reducing the amount waste in the city.
Leave Leeds Tidy is most active during the busiest student changeover times in June and July, where it provides students with information on waste collection, recycling and where to donate unwanted items. For more information visit the website.
We support students to find volunteering opportunities with local charities and community groups across the city. Activities include everything from art therapy, sports tournaments and youth clubs to HIV prevention work, environmental conservation and befriending older people. The range covers one-off events to long-term placements.
Email volunteer@leeds.ac.uk or call Shadin Dowson-Zeidan on 0113 343 1062 to find out about up-to-date opportunities.
Action is a student-led volunteer group that runs projects with children, older people and the environment. They have an active calendar of activities, ranging from day trips for young carers, to weekends away for children with learning difficulties.
RAG is a fund raising group, and one of the oldest societies at Leeds University Union. In 2010/11 they donated over £250,000 to charity, raised through RAG events and trips away. Each year RAG runs a number of hitches and challenges, including a hitchhike to Morocco and projects in Uganda & Thailand.
Student Action for Refugees provides support for refugees and asylum seekers in Leeds. They run weekly conversation classes as well as a bike renovation project.
The volunteer society Homed supports the homeless in Leeds. They make regular visits to hostels throughout the week to distribute food and provide a friendly ear to tenants. They also help raise awareness of homelessness in Leeds by educating students about social exclusion and challenging prejudice and stereotypes.
The aim of Conservation Volunteers is to conserve the natural environment in and around Leeds by conducting conservation work alongside local initiatives. This involves Woodland management, planting native flowers/trees and path construction.
Leeds Nightline provides confidential and non-advisory listening, emotional support and information services available to every student in Leeds from 8pm to 8am every night of term.
LUUMS Education is the volunteering and outreach strand of LUU’s Music Society. They work closely with other volunteering groups such as Action, and help run events getting children to engage with music in the city.
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