Post by Alisa Ivanov

I recently had the opportunity to represent UCL Salsa Society and was invited to speak on the panel at the TeamUCL Leaders’ Conference about the volunteering project I was in charge of organising with one other colleague last year. To briefly summarise our project: we selected a volunteering team through application forms and then hosted a 10-week training course with the volunteers, led by a wonderful external Salsa teacher, Hugo Rosales. During this course, the volunteers not only polished their basic skills but also learned how to teach a class effectively and ensure participants remained engaged. Each session had multiple focuses, including dealing with uncertainty, adapting to different levels of dancers, and working with participants with different disabilities. After completing the training, our volunteers were ready to deliver multiple dance sessions to a variety of organisations and charities, with which I had formed partnerships. I learned so much in this role, from organisation and prioritisation to creating strong partnerships and communicating effectively via email and Zoom calls. Additionally, collaborating with my colleague, booking rooms, and organising teaching sessions with our external instructor taught me many soft skills and really opened my heart to dancing with people in these organisations. For many elderly people, social interaction is increasingly difficult, and as a medical student, I wanted to approach this from a different perspective, similar to social prescribing. It was incredibly rewarding to dance with participants who said these sessions were their one chance in the week to get out of the house, move, enjoy music, and connect with others in similar situations. I feel honoured to have had this role and to have brightened even just a few people’s days. I really wish this project the most success in the coming year and hope it continues to be as well-received by both volunteers and participants. Having been a volunteer myself in the first year this project was set up, and now leading it alongside Martha, it has been a beautiful full-circle moment. I am proud that under our leadership we were able to attract even more committed volunteers this year, maintain our relationship with Age UK, and create new partnerships with Holborn CA and Carers UK. We carried these efforts through the entire academic year and, at the end, held a meeting with our volunteers to reflect on their experiences. To mention just a few comments: “One of the highlights of my year”, “I loved speaking to the participants seeing them have fun and laugh” I really hope this project continues to thrive and achieves even greater success in the coming years, because it has definitely meant a lot to me.