Hello, I’m Sophie. I volunteer as the second-year Course Rep for BSc Crime and Investigative Studies, but I’m also a keen community volunteer too!
I volunteered in Crescent Cat Rescue because I’m very passionate about cats and finding them a good home. I believe no animal deserves to be abandoned without love, so it was great to be able to provide these rescue cats with a clean and loving environment.
My first role at the rescue centre was to be a volunteer cleaner. I was responsible for cleaning each cat pen and making sure that everything was safe from any harmful bacteria, which included the litter trays!
The fun part, and most rewarding, was always playing with the cats and kittens! Many of the older cats had not been shown love before so were very nervous at first. However, once they began to gain trust, they became more confident, which made them more adoptable and brought them a step closer to finding a loving home.
It was great to gain skills from working at Crescent Cat Rescue. I built my confidence by talking to new people about the cats that were up for adoption and, even though the cats can’t talk, I felt that I made a big difference by showing them that humans are capable of love.
This is Alice! She was my favourite cat and has now been found a home! She was one of the older residents at the Crescent Cat Rescue, which means she was often overlooked but once she became more confident with humans then she began to catch people’s eyes.
Before I moved to Cambridge I hadn’t had much opportunity to get involved in volunteering, as I lived in a small town. However, now I am living in Cambridge there are loads of opportunities I can get involved with!
I have recently become a campaign volunteer for the Blue Cross, which is another animal charity (can you tell I love animals?). I will be responsible for online research, including wrongful online advertising of pets, sending emails to politicians in line with current Blue Cross campaigns, and both completing and sharing online petitions to get the Blue Cross message to a wide range of people.
It’s a great chance to make a difference to the lives of animals, boost my CV and make me more employable in the future, plus it means I get to help affect change in United Kingdom laws and government policies which concern animals.
Why volunteer?
I decided to volunteer because I want to give something back. If there are people or animals that require my help then I love the opportunity to do what I can – volunteering can be so satisfying. It’s also a great opportunity to gain more experience without a huge time commitment.
Want to get involved?
You can browse a huge range of volunteering opportunities, here on the SU website. Just set yourself up a profile and take a look.
If you’re into animals like me, you might be interested in these roles:
Don’t forget, you can log all your volunteering hours to gain awards and recognition for all your hard work.
Don’t be scared to put yourself out there! You could make a huge difference to somebody’s life and gain plenty of skills as well as confidence!