Graphic design students at West Kent College are on the hunt for charities and community groups they can assist through their creativity and artistic skills.

Second year pupils at the Tonbridge college annually volunteer with local organisations, working on their websites, short films, posters, brochures and rebranding projects.

This year, eight are taking part in the Design Volunteers project and the college is keen for community organisations who would like to take part to get in touch.

Tutor and project organiser Sancha de Burca, said: “Organisations benefit from the project in getting the skills of a remote-working, free designer for seven months.

"We encourage organisations who support the community, as this helps our students work for ‘design for good’.

"This means that they are using their design skills to help local charities, rather than seeing design as just a means of advertising consumer products."

Previous undergraduate designers have helped food banks, education charities and local organisations working with young children, the elderly, community and residents' group and towards gender empowerment.

Uptake has been so good in the past that there has even been a client waiting list.

The students, whose course is awarded and quality assured by The University of Kent, will start volunteering from the end of next month.

Ms de Burca, who won a Kent Higher Education Teacher of the Year award in 2019 for the project, went on: "Design Volunteers also helps our university students build their client relationship skills and professionalism.

"Students who have completed this project in the past have acknowledged how much experience they got and how this gave them confidence and an understanding of how to use design to help others.

"We’ve had volunteers who have gone to Africa for their charity or found freelance design work through the opportunity.

"On occasion, volunteers have opted to remain helping their organisation after the project has finished."

If you are part of an organisation that would benefit from the free services of an undergraduate designer, contact sanchadeburca@northkent.ac.uk for more information.

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