Common Purpose gives graduate the opportunity to showcase Common Good
A recent GCU graduate is hoping to transition into the world of work through a volunteering opportunity with one of the UK’s most recognised charities.
Louis Evans walked across stage earlier this month and collected his first-class honours degree for four years of hard work on the BA (Hons) Business Management programme. Instead of enjoying a summer full of restful recuperation, he is now preparing to open an event in Bournemouth for the British Red Cross.
“The opportunity came about through Common Purpose, which is a leadership-development charity helping students boost their CVs,” explained Louis.
“In January, I got an email link from the University talking about the opportunity to get involved with them. I thought it seemed quite interesting and completed a 12-hour course, which resulted in me getting a little badge from them.
“In May, Common Purpose then emailed me saying they had a connection with the British Red Cross and asked if I wanted to get involved in their Youth Lens project, which is basically where they look to engage with young people through co-production and consultation activities.”
Keen to add experience to his CV, Louis decided to apply for the project and now finds himself sampling a different side of the business world.
He said: “I knew this would be good opportunity to have because it allows me to experience what the British Red Cross has to offer and could potentially lead to me becoming a full volunteer with them in future.
“I was offered three different options to get involved with. One was to do with writing a report, but I wasn’t up for that after doing reports for coursework. I also had the option of focusing on asylum seekers, which would have been interesting, but I didn’t know too much about it. The one that really appealed to me related to events organisation, which I felt was right up my street and would be a cool experience to add onto my degree.”
Louis added: “I had actually previously been looking at applying for different schemes and whether to look at public relations or HR, but I knew I wanted to be actively involved with people. This is another string to my bow in a competitive environment.”
On the 21st of July, Louis will travel seven hours by train to the English coastal town of Bournemouth where he’ll get the chance to help deliver an event to visitors from across the UK.
“I started on the project back in May and that weekend will be the culmination of everything I’ve been involved in. I had the chance to learn about the British Red Cross through introductory meetings, so I feel I have that knowledge to take forward to the event.
“It’s basically going to be an Open Day where there’s different stalls, speakers and workshops – the whole idea is to provide an insight into what the British Red Cross does. There’s also going to be a simulated disaster event to look at what we would do in a crisis situation.”
“It will mostly be existing British Red Cross members, but they also sent it out to the public - so it’ll just be a case of seeing how many people turn up. Folk will be travelling from all over Britain to get involved, so there’s a real variety of backgrounds. It will be nice to interact with people from different cultures.”
Louis added: “I’m actually going to be helping host the event and will be opening it up to everyone with a speech.
“I’ve done a little bit of volunteering before, but not on this scale. Opening an event is obviously very different to helping at my local tennis club!”
Louis hopes his opportunity with the British Red Cross will help bridge the gap between being a student and becoming a professional.
He said: “I’ve been really keen to improve my public speaking and feel like this will be a great opportunity to develop, but I’m honestly looking forward to the whole experience.
“It’s definitely a stepping stone into the world of work for me at this point. It would be great to get a nice reference off the British Red Cross and take that forward to potential employers. It’s obviously good to have a degree behind me but having volunteering experience like this can only be beneficial.”
By Ross Clark
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