Student volunteers from the University of Warwick contributed half a million pounds of their time to community projects in 2006, according to figures released today.

More than 2000 students volunteered their free time to 830 projects in schools, hospitals and old people’s homes in the Coventry area last year.

Jamie Darwen, who runs the four-year-old Warwick Volunteers programme says the number of students coming forward is going up all the time. 

“I get very tired of people saying today’s students are apathetic,” he said, “because it’s just not true.   Last year students gave in total 38,000 hours of their time to the community. The Institute of Volunteering Research says the average hourly wage for 2006 was £13.07. This gives us a total value for volunteering time of £496,660.

“Students did everything from digging gardens and painting walls to representing Asylum Seekers in the courts.”  

ENDS

For further information contact:         

Jamie Darwen 07876 218064 

Richard Fern, Press Officer, Communications Office, University House, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 8UW
07876 217740 email: r.w.fern@warwick.ac.uk

REF PR 9 RWF