Volunteer Opportunities
Each Specialist Group, Sub Group and Branch is run by a committee of motivated and passionate volunteer members. They give their time and expertise, to ensure that the profession develops and advances through education, networking and resource development. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved, click the dropdowns to find out how you can get involved today.
Why volunteer?
With busy lives, it can be tempting not to make the time to give something back but you, and your employer, can gain significant benefits from volunteering with the BDA. The right opportunity can help you find new contacts and friends, learn new skills and even advance your career.
There are a number of benefits to getting involved with your Specialist Group, Sub Group or Branch committee including:
Develop valuable job skills – volunteering is a great way to discover something that you are really good at and also develop new skills. Many roles offer the opportunity to gain career enhancing skills, such as leadership, project management, marketing, and negotiating and finance management. We also offer formal training for some roles.
Make new contacts and friends – volunteering gives you the opportunity to broaden your networks and can expose you to new friends who have common interests. It is also a fantastic opportunity to meet new people who may become future colleagues or mentors. Many committee members also find it fun and make great friends!
Develop the profession – working as part of a committee team, you are leading and ensuring the provision of CPD, providing vital opportunities for dietitians to network and offering them the opportunity to hear updates and best practice in a wide variety of different areas. This is contributing to the development and advancement of the profession and ultimately driving demand for dietetics.
It’s never too early to engage with the dietetic community outside of university. It can be a hugely daunting prospect as it’s easy to imagine your contribution or voice will be ill-received because of lack of experience.
The Obesity Specialist Group nominated me for the Student Champion award, which has shown me how valued and appreciated all voices and continuations are - and how open other RDs are to encouraging the development of the next generation, outside of an education setting. I hope it will inspire other students to get involved in specialist groups and other non-university opportunities.
Linsey Cockburn, 2021 Student Champion & Obesity Specialist Group Committee Member