This leaflet is the seventh in Community Service Volunteers’ series of publications on volunteering in the UK. It includes the results of a survey of more than 1,000 higher education students which found that the most popular gap year options remain travelling and working overseas, despite the special skills and experience to be gained through volunteering. These include team-working and communication and the “transferable skills” employers are looking for in new graduates. CSV volunteers may be sent anywhere from a hostel for the homeless to working with children with learning difficulties. Food, accommodation and a weekly allowance are provided.

Details from the free hotline: 0800 374 991; www.csv.org.uk