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21-year-old wins award for 2,500+ hours volunteering

Words by Smiley Team

Many of us have given up our time to volunteer and help others – but probably not as much as Amy Hughes. 

The 21-year-old final year Photography undergraduate student, who goes to Portsmouth University, has recently won a Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence from her uni in recognition of her volunteering efforts this year, which totalled a whopping 1,300 hours. 

By the end of the year, she hopes to have extended that to 1,500. 

She’s currently the Unit Manager at the University of Portsmouth St John Ambulance Unit, which has around 30 St John Ambulance student volunteers.

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Amy volunteered the equivalent of a four-day week for the NHS during the pandemic. She started volunteering for the charity when she joined university in September 2018 through the university’s first aid society, which is linked to St John Ambulance. 

“Through my volunteering journey, I've had so many amazing experiences,” Amy tells Smiley News. “These include volunteering in hospital A&E departments including Nightingale London, supporting local stadia, volunteering at local events in my community, and training more than 300 members of the public on how to do CPR. 

“I’ve volunteered doing nighttime economy supporting the city and working alongside South Central Ambulance Service, and I’ve done numerous frontline ambulance shifts supporting various ambulance trusts."

Amy says volunteering makes her feel more connected to her local community, which she really loves. “Since the start of 2020, I have completed 2,500 hours of volunteering alongside my full time university degree which sounds like an awful lot but it’s something that I really enjoy so it doesn’t feel like work to me," she says. 

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Despite having to do it alongside her studies, she says if you enjoy something enough, you will find time to fit it in. “I enjoy my degree and volunteering so much that I find I dedicate days to each to make sure everything I need to do gets done."

Her most privileged moment she’s had through my volunteering is where she held the hand of a patient in their final moments so that they weren’t alone – ”It’s something I will never forget and I feel extremely privileged to have had that experience,” she says.

Her advice? “For anyone who is considering volunteering I say go for it,” says Amy. “Even if you just give a couple of hours a month in the long term you are making a huge impact and also doing something really great for yourself. 

“You will meet new people, form new connections and learn some great skills which will come in use in life.”

If you’re inspired to volunteer for St John Ambulance, which is the nation's leading first aid charity, visit their website or make a donation to help them continue their work.

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