Lancaster is the latest in a series of universities to join in the new craze of Jailbreak. Over the weekend of Week Three 21 students embarked upon a 48-hour journey to raise money for SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise).
The aim of the scheme was to travel as far away from Lancaster as possible by means of flights, boats, hitchhiking, or any method imaginable, without spending a penny.
The seven teams participating in the event did remarkably well, with two teams negotiating their way to Marrakesh, Morocco, the furthest destination reached. Other teams made it as far as Bruges, Belgium and Geneva, Switzerland. Another group travelled to Heathrow Airport before being impeded by the poor charity of the airlines. However, they did manage to convince Premier Inns to allow them a free night in one of their rooms before hitchhiking their way back to Lancaster via a KitKat lorry driver, a fireman with a hobby of driving coaches and the kindness of people along the way.
SIFE, which is non-profit and co-ordinated entirely by students, estimates that the event raised funds of over £1000 to contribute to one of the many projects they have running.
Katie Vernon, SIFE’s fundraising officer and Charlotte Vernon, Co President, were involved in the operation of the base camp which determined where each of the participants were at any given time. Vernon and Leggett have suggested that it is most likely the money raised will aid the ‘Sale Through Project’, which works with a community in Uganda to get their local products into the UK market.
Ben Hession, one of the 21 participants and SIFE Co President said: “We all had a great time. All money goes to a good cause and I would definitely do it again.”
Due to the massive success of Lancaster’s first Jailbreak, the students running SIFE are optimistic that they will be able to hold another next term. This will hopefully be on a much larger scale and harvest more money to sustain the causes SIFE are supporting.
