Celebrating our volunteers

Many members of the University community, including students, staff and alumni are volunteers either here in Manchester, or elsewhere nationally or internationally.  As a University we want to take time every year to thank these volunteers for the skills, commitment and tens of thousands of volunteers hours given.

One of the ways we do this is through our annual Volunteer of the Year Awards, which are given in four categories:

• Student of the Year (individual) - open to any current undergraduate or postgraduate of The University of Manchester. This award is in association with University of Manchester Students' Union.
• Student Group of the Year (group) - open to any group of current students who volunteer together.
• Staff of the Year - open to any current staff member of the University.
• Alumni of the Year - open to any graduate of The University of Manchester (including Victoria University and UMIST).

The awards are affiliated to the University’s Make a Difference Awards and the winners also receive the President’s Social Responsibility Medal.

2023’s awards took place on 9th May in a live ceremony in the Whitworth Hall.  The winners supported a range of causes including women and children, mental health and womb cancer research and support. The overall winners received a cash prize for their organisation: £300 for the overall winner, and £200 and £100 for the 2nd and 3rd place runners up. In addition the overall winner in each category received the University's prestigious Medal for Social Responsibility. You can see more about the winners here.