The university’s Raising and Giving society celebrated a successful 2007-08 academic year this week with a ceremony handing over cheques to representatives of their chosen charities. The chosen charities for last year’s RAG Week were Morecambe’s Baby Care Unit, orphan charity S.O.S Children, and cancer support charity Macmillan; each received a share of the £4,558 raised during the week of fund-raising activities that took place in February of this year.
Events in RAG Week included: a gunge tank in which RAG members and union officers were gunged; an inter-college, cross-campus quiz; themed nights in both Cuba and the Carleton; a fancy dress competition; the sale of RAG bands, which gave discounts and special offers at many local and campus businesses; and general collections. RAG Week is the biggest charity event on campus and typically raises the bulk of RAG’s total donations.
Since RAG Week, however, the team have put on several other events—such as a fund-raising drive for Oxfam in Week 2 this term and another for children’s charity Whizz-Kidz in Week 3—and there are plans for many more, to disperse fund-raising activity throughout the year as well as in the annual RAG Week. Highlights include major events around Halloween and a big end-of-term party.
This year RAG hopes to help more charities, and more local charities too; it welcomes any suggestions of deserving causes on which RAG can concentrate its fund-raising efforts. It also welcomes any new members to its weekly meetings, which take place on Mondays at 6:30 in Furness Lecture Theatre 3.
