This past Thursday, the Student Volunteer Bureau hosted the 23rd annual Volunteer Incentive Program awards ceremony. The awards were presented by the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador Joan Marie Aylward, and Memorial’s President and Vice-Provost Janet Morrison.
The awards ceremony celebrates student volunteers who have achieved the VIP levels in Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
“We basically give volunteers levels that they can achieve per semester… we give them 20 hours or 40 or 80 or 20 hours again based on what level they are, and they finish those levels and we validate their volunteerism and we give them a certificate,” said SVB Coordinator and Platinum plaque recipient Yusra Altaf.
The Bronze level is awarded to students who have completed 20 hours of volunteer service, an hour of professional development, and a ThinkTank. This past year, 128 students completed the Bronze level, totalling over 2,600 volunteer hours.
The Silver level is awarded to students who have completed 40 hours of volunteer service, 2 hours of professional development, and a Silver ThinkTank. 71 students completed the Silver level, and combined for over 2,900 volunteer hours.
The Gold level is awarded to students who have completed 80 hours of volunteer service, 4 hours of professional development and leadership development, and a Gold ThinkTank. 53 students completed the Gold level, with over 4,200 volunteer hours.
The highest level, Platinum, was awarded to 24 students with over 480 hours invested.
“it really just means a lot more hours of volunteering, but I found that if I can communicate and involve myself in my community, small or big, local or off campus, it’s really really good,” said SVB Fundraising Coordinator and Platinum plaque recipient, Hiba Khalil.
Students who achieved the Platinum Award had to have completed another 20 hours of volunteer service, an hour of professional development, a pre-reflection session and a post-reflection session, as well as facilitate 2 reflection sessions.
On students who may be interested in volunteering, Altaf had this to say: “Do it, just start. When you do something selfless and you do it for the pure joy of it, you get this kind of rush that really keeps bringing you back.”
All photos by Wasif Hossain (@wasifgraphy)
