Student Volunteer Army was formed as a charitable trust which has been continually led by a student executive and guided by a board of trustees.

Each year students organise over 50 local projects that engage 3000 students at the University of Canterbury.

In 2017 following a request by Primary Schools, SVA launched a nationwide ‘SVA Schools’ programme to extend the SVA spirit to primary school classrooms.

In classes, each year 32,000 students identify a local project, build a team, develop a plan, operate their project, and report on what they have achieved.

The programme teaches cooperation and leadership skills to young kiwis to become lifelong volunteers!