DUSVO
DUSVO
Durham University Student Volunteering and Outreach (DUSVO) is the hub for student‑led volunteering at Durham University. DUSVO has 1742 registered student volunteers providing on average 3500 hours of community impact on an annual basis. DUSVO supports and coordinates around 25 volunteering projects, offering students meaningful opportunities to engage with the local community while developing skills, confidence, and social responsibility.
DUSVO continues to impress me with how much can be done with volunteers alone. Thousands of hours, hundreds of people supported through life, and collaborations across so many organisations – you really feel like the centre of the city!
– Taylor Seddon
What is a project?
Being a Project Manager has developed my skills far beyond what I expected. From social media marketing to leading a large team of volunteers, each week brings challenges that push me to think creatively and strengthen the community around me.
It was been the most rewarding part of my degree. I would encourage anyone looking to make a real positive change in Durham to take on the opportunity. (Milly Burgoyne – Durham for Refugees Co-Project Manager)
Our DUSVO Projects
How to start a project?
Anyone can start a DUSVO project and start making an impact in the local community. To start an project you will need to complete this form and one of our team will be in touch. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
Our projects have a big impact in the wider community. Each term we recognise and celebrate that with our DUSVO Impact Award. Find out more about our DUSVO Impact Award
Project Spotlights
Durham for Refugees’
Durham for Refugees’ termly Syrian dinners were once again a resounding success – selling over 70 tickets per dinner and raising more than £2,300 to support the cooks and their families. The dinners have drawn students, locals and staff alike, and being featured in the Palatinate was a proud moment for the community built around them.
Our weekly drop-ins remain consistently oversubscribed – a credit to the quality of our volunteers, excellent weekly advertisements, and a superb range of themed sessions. This year we took things further with rocket making, lantern making and clay modelling, and the engagement of adult asylum seekers with these activities has been genuinely powerful to witness. We’ve also made sure our drop-ins further afield are equally well-resourced.
DUSVO Does Everest
On Saturday 24th January, 21 staff and student volunteers transformed a familiar staircase near St Aidan’s College into a mountain – collectively climbing the height of Everest to raise over £1,000 for DUSVO.
Each volunteer completed a minimum of 25 ascents of the 84-step staircase, with several pushing far beyond that – special congratulations to Jennifer, Max and Eve, who completed 30, 40 and 50 climbs respectively. An incredible display of determination and teamwork.
The challenge was planned and delivered entirely by DUSVO’s Student Executive Committee, working alongside their staff lead – handling everything from risk assessments and volunteer coordination to promotion and on-the-day delivery. It was a perfect reflection of DUSVO’s approach: ambitious, purposeful and reliant on collective effort.
Hedgehog Friendly
This year, DUSVO’s Hedgehog Friendly Project took on the Big Hog Friendly Litter Pick Challenge – and came second place nationally. Across the university, 91 volunteers came together to collect 121 bags of litter, making a real difference for the thousands of hedgehogs and other animals harmed by litter each year. It’s a brilliant example of what’s possible when students show up with energy, care and a willingness to get their hands dirty.