The President’s Volunteer Award

 

Recipients of the President’s Volunteer Award last year

The President’s Volunteer Award (PVA) has been established to harness, acknowledge and support the contribution that students at the University of Limerick make to their communities.

The PVA draws on a strong tradition of student volunteering both on and off campus.  The primary goals of the PVA are:

• To sustain and foster a culture of volunteering, active citizenship and civic engagement amongst the student population.
• To develop collaborative projects as well as furthering existing initiatives between UL and our communities.
• To formally acknowledge and support the contribution that UL student volunteers make to our communities.
• To promote the development of civic and leadership skills amongst students.

 

How does it work?

The most important requirement for the PVA award is that you show a commitment to volunteering work.  The PVA is calculated on a maximum of three hours weekly volunteering work.

To find a volunteer opportunity go to www.ulpva.ie

You can also volunteer in your home county (sports clubs, youth clubs, etc) or abroad.

Please note:

• The PVA does not recognise volunteering work completed after the academic year-ends.
• The PVA is awarded to students who have completed a PVA application form and have their volunteering hours signed off by their supervisor.
• You can only earn a maximum of 3 hours volunteering work per week to be eligible for the PVA.  The reason why is that we want to ensure you show a commitment to volunteering.   For example, 3 hours X 7 weeks = 21 hours.  You need 20 hours to earn a bronze award.   You can volunteer as many hours as you want but the PVA will only take account of 3 hours per week.
• Each academic year you have the opportunity to earn a bronze, silver or gold award. You do not have to get a bronze or silver award before applying for gold. During a 4 year degree programme, you could potentially earn 4 gold awards.  This would show employers that during your academic studies you committed 240 hours of your leisure time to volunteering.

 

Applying for the President’s Volunteer Award

Step 1:  Decide what award you’re applying for:

BRONZE – 20 hours of volunteering
SILVER – 40 hours of volunteering
GOLD – 60 hours of volunteering

Step 2: Complete the application form and have it signed off by your volunteering supervisor (all instructions are on the PVA application form).

Step 3: Complete the reflective portfolio (part of the application form).  This form is designed to help you reflect on the impact and benefits that both you and the community organisation gained from your volunteering role (the reflective portfolio will be very useful when you are updating your CV and in job interviews.

Step 4: All completed applications must be submitted to the PVA Office by May 30th each academic year.

Step 5: All completed forms will be reviewed by the PVA Selection Committee and once signed off you will receive confirmation of your award.

Step 6: The PVA ceremony takes place in October each year. All UL students are welcome to attend the award.

 

Outstanding Achievement Award

The President of the University of Limerick will recognise and honour students exhibiting an overall exceptional commitment to volunteering during their academic training.

The students are selected based on the typed reflective portfolio.

 

International Students

The Plassey Award recognises that international students spending one semester at UL do not have the same opportunities as those students spending a full-academic year at UL.  Therefore students spending one semester in UL may apply for the Plassey Award. To be eligible for this award you must show a commitment to volunteering.

An average of 3 hours over a twelve week period will enable you to apply for the IPVA.