In Week 4, Furness College are hosting a campaign raising awareness of support for student welfare, in addition to weekly drop-in sessions provided by the Welfare Team. Furness College is working in association with other societies, such as the Yoga society and the Running Club, as well as LUSU through workshops and Green Lancaster, before ending the week celebrating the international culture of Furness with an evening of music and food from around the world.
The campaign hopes to encourage student support for Green Lancaster, which will work in partnership with Furness by providing free fruit and vegetables in the foyer for one day and the Yoga society and Running Club are supporting fitness by running free events for students. National ‘Time to Talk’ day falls during Welfare week, and Furness are recognising this in association with the charity Mind, by encouraging students to share their stories and experiences to raise awareness and fight against negative stigmas of mental illnesses. LUSU are also backing the campaign, providing a range of workshops such as CV building and learning a new language, with various representatives. The week-long campaign ends with ‘Trev Takeover’, which Vice President (Welfare & Campaigns) Rowan Taylor promoted as an evening to celebrate “different cultures and traditions coming together as one community.” Taylor praised the scheme as an opportunity to “get students thinking about themselves and their fellow Furnessians, and helping raise awareness that the JCR is here for them.”
Furness Welfare & Campaigns Officer Becca Hall explained Welfare week as a conscious effort to “promote general well-being, both physical and mental, within the college and university as a whole”, raising awareness of the issues that the welfare team deal with, and the support available to help students. Hall praised the scheme as she hopes it will encourage others to open up about their mental health, and provide appropriate guidance in relevant areas.
