Here at Durham we actively encourage and support our staff and students to volunteer. Students can choose to volunteer within any of the 26 student led projects on offer by DUSVO (Durham University Student Volunteer and Outreach), within their College outreach programme or as part of their degree programme, sports team or society. Staff members have allocated work time in which they can volunteer, whether this be as part of a team challenge or something they do individually.

Across the board we are working with nearly 200 charities and community organisations in addition to offering services to North East schools and hundreds of individuals. In 2020, we received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in the Community since 1989. In 2023, we won gold at the International Corporate Social Responsibility Awards and were winners of the Business of the Year category at the County Durham Together Awards. We also held the Investing in Volunteers accreditation for nine consecutive years from 2012-2021, and have regained the accreditation for 2024-2027.