Ten CQU Sydney International Campus students gave up their time recently (Aug 14) to help The Smith Family's Christmas Fundraising Drive, during the annual Corporate Volunteer Week.

Working alongside a team of 25 volunteers and The Smith Family staff, the CQU team worked throughout the day and their efforts will help raise $25,000 for The Smith Family over the Christmas period.

The day offered students a wonderful opportunity to help the local community as well as to network with corporate partners of The Smith Family which, on the day, included employees from American Express and Microsoft.

The event was a huge success as students took full advantage of the situation, interacting with other volunteers to discuss their future work opportunities, as well seeking direct feedback on how to gain employment with organisations that they ideally would love to work for.

At the end of the day, many students exchanged email addresses and contact details with other volunteers.

The CQU Sydney TECC (Training, Employment and Career Coaching) team has worked hard to build rapport with organisations such as The Smith Family. The charity's team leaders were very impressed with the turn-out of CQU students and their hard work and support throughout the day. The students' efforts have helped build a special relationship with The Smith Family that was initially created by the TECC team.

This community support has provided an excellent sense of goodwill for the students involved and the University.

It should be noted that the students were the only volunteers that were not representing a corporate sponsor and that it was their personal time that they were sparing.

Volunteer opportunities are becoming more popular as students seek to gain valuable experience in their field of study.

The TECC team is working hard with many private companies as well as charity organisations to give CQU students the opportunity to receive hands-on work experience that is directly related to their degree.

CQU Sydney currently has over 170 student volunteers working in the community. We would like to thank all the volunteers for their time and efforts in helping many businesses and the community.