Leeds University Union
Community Engagement Plan Our ideas to make our community better
Our commitments to the community
Introduction
Ben Fisher LUU Community Officer Since 2007 we’ve been working hard to ensure students are able to make a positive contribution to the city, providing new opportunities for them to try new things and change the world around them. Whether we’re supporting students to run their own projects, working with our partners in the city to address specific issues, or linking skilled students with community organisations, we’re committed to supporting community engagement in Leeds.
After listening to students and other members of the community, we’ve identified five priorities that will guide our work in the area. While our specific activities will continually adapt to meet the needs of students and our community partners, these five priorities will provide these activities with a clear direction. I’m proud of Leeds University Union’s vision to ensure students love their time at Leeds, and I believe that we can only do this by helping them to engage with their city for the benefit of everyone.
The work of students in recent years clearly demonstrates the potential for our student community to make our city better for everyone.
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We will help students to be responsible members of the community.
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We will listen to all members of the community and respond to the issues you raise.
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We will continue to work with community partners to develop, run and support projects that help to improve our city. We will share the positive stories about students and the community. We will look to the future and consult with community partners to understand how we can help Leeds become the best city in the UK.
How we will meet these commitments:
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Information We’ll provide students with the information they need to engage with their community.
Representation We’ll ensure there is student representation on all relevant community groups.
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Delivery
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We’ll continue to run community projects, with the support and input of our partners.
Dialogue We’ll hold a series of conversations with community stakeholders to help develop a clear vision for the future. 3
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Information We know students want our help finding the right place to live, accessing and improving the services they need and with being empowered to improve the communities in which they live. Research undertaken by the Hyde Park Neighbourhood Board shows that students share the same views and wishes as other residents: cleaner streets, less noise and improved safety.
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We’re in a unique position to communicate with students and will always seek to help deliver messages that support other community stakeholders. We will work in collaboration with Higher Education Institutions and other students’ unions as we recognise that to achieve our aims we must engage with the wider student community across Leeds.
Get involved: To get involved or to give us any feedback on our communications with students, please contact Rose Hampton at R.J.Hampton@leeds.ac.uk 4
Actions: We will review annually review and update our Living in Leeds web pages, ensuring content is relevant to all students in Leeds. We’ll produce an annual communication plan that synchronises with the communication plans of the University, the local Area Committee and other relevant bodies. We’ll run focus groups with students to ensure our community communications are relevant and helpful and seek feedback from community stakeholders.
Knowledge delivers tips and advice via the internet and peer-to-peer communication to students, aiming to prevent them from becoming a victim of crime. 5
Representation From their arrival in Leeds we talk to our students about our role in helping them make their students’ union, their university, and their city better. We introduce students to their representatives, explaining their role in helping students get things changed. In turn, we support representatives to inform other students of their work. Our Community Reps and Hall Reps are an integral part of this work.
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Through Community Reps and our Community Officer, students should be represented at all relevant community meetings, ensuring their views are heard and that key issues are fed back to them. Our Hall Reps help to build strong communities in our Halls of Residence, promoting an understanding of the wider community in preparation for students’ move into private sector housing in subsequent years.
Get involved: To find out more about our Reps and their work contact our Community Officer, Ben Fisher on B.J.Fisher@leeds.ac.uk
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Actions: We will aim to fill all Rep positions each year, training and supporting them to ensure they fulfil the requirements of their roles. We will respond to all requests for student representation on community groups. Our Reps will go to community meetings and we will continue to listen and respond to their feedback.
Ryan Yung Community Rep, North Hyde Park “This year I want to improve relations between students and local residents – emphasising our shared concerns and values.” 7
Delivery
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There are many benefits to our community projects. They not only address specific needs, e.g. health and wellbeing or the environment, they also provide lifechanging experiences for students.
We will seek to influence the behaviour of students where there are problems, but will also seek to influence the planning and delivery of local services to find solutions to structural problems.
They provide opportunities for students and longer-term residents to come together and make the city better on a local level.
We will respond to feedback from local community stakeholders, including Councillors, telling us that we don’t do enough to promote the positive impact of students. We will do this by sharing the positive stories that come from our community work.
While we recognise the negative impact of some students, we also see daily examples of their positive impact.
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Get involved: If you would like to find out more about any of the projects overleaf, please contact them on the email addresses given.
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Actions: We will review each project annually against its plan to ensure it continues to meet a clear community need. We will develop new projects each year that meet community needs and that are sustainable. We will communicate the positive impact of our community work, especially where it is student led.
Students celebrating the money they raised for Shelter, a charity for the homeless. This was done though Raise and Give (RAG), one of our student-led projects. 9
Our existing community projects
Bardon Grange ran 17 gardening sessions for children at Rothwell Victoria Primary School.
We’ve recruited students into 83 different roles within local charities and organisations.
The Bardon Grange Allotment Project
Community Skills Project
A community food growing project that helps students, staff, and other members of the local community grow organic food by giving access to communal growing space.
A new project that links students with skills to relevant volunteering opportunities in the local community, which could be looking for help with anything from web design to translation.
bardongrangeproject@luu.leeds.ac.uk
volunteering@luu.leeds.ac.uk
...and their successes last year.
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Knowledge helps decrease insecure burglaries in the areas where students live.
Green Streets collected over 11 tonnes of reusable items and donated them through free shops.
Last year, RAG donated ÂŁ5219.85 to 15 local organisations through its community fund.
Knowledge
Leave Leeds Tidy & Green Streets
Leeds RAG Community Fund
A safety promoting project that works to prevent students from becoming victims of crime by sharing information via the internet and peer-to-peer communication.
Together, these two projects aim to reduce the environmental impact that students have on Leeds, particularly during the changeover period every summer.
A fund providing a small pot of money collected from events through the year. Open for applications early each year, successful charities receive a grant to assist their work.
knowledge@luu.leeds.ac.uk
leaveleedstidy@luu.leeds.ac.uk
charities@leedsrag.org.uk
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Dialogue The City Council is developing the Leeds Initiative, and we’re aware of other conversations taking place about what the future for our city looks like.
We intend to consult with our community partners, as well as longer term and student residents, to consider what the future of our communities might look like.
We want to become active partners in these discussions.
We want to look toward a positive future while being able to anticipate and respond to potential negative forces.
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Get involved: To find out more about our future plans, contact our Community Officer, Ben Fisher on B.J.Fisher@leeds.ac.uk
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Actions: We will consult with our students and community partners about how we can contribute to making Leeds the best city in the UK. We will identify longer-term strategic priorities for future community work by May 2012. We will actively engage in the Leeds Initiative to be the best city in the UK by 2030 by supporting the priorities around health and wellbeing, children and young people, business, communities and a place to live.
Leeds City Centre 13
Activity Calendar Month September
October
Date
Activity
13th
Green Streets Free Shop for new international students
19th to 23rd Freshers’ Week activities 24th
STAR (Student Action for Refugees) Saturday Classes begins
5th
RAG (Raise & Give) Raid in Leeds for in aid of Peace Direct
11th
Union Community Rep Meet & Greet – come along to LUU and meet our new reps
18th
Better Leeds Forum
24th to 28th Knowledge Week 1st November
December
January
Student Volunteering Societies begin activity for the year Student Volunteering Showcase at Unipol
5th
RAG Raid at Roundhay Bonfire in aid of St. Gemma’s Hospice
15th
Better Leeds Forum
21st
House Hunting Campaign begins
5th to 9th
Action Christmas Present Project
21st
Green Streets Free Shop for international students
21st
House Hunting Fair
23rd
RAG Community Fund open
31st
Better Leeds Forum
Planting at Bardon Grange
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February
1st
Bardon Grange Growing season begins
7th
Impact Day
15th
Older People’s Tea Party
20th to 24th Student Volunteering Week 23rd
March
April
May
June
Better Leeds Forum RAG Fashion Show
27th to 2nd
RAG Week
5th to 8th
Exec Elections
12th to 16th
Promoting local elections to students to encourage them to
16th
RAG Community Fund closes
11th
LUUMS Charity Concert
2nd to 5th
Action Children’s Easter Holiday
23rd to 27th Thank You Week 3rd
Better Leeds Forum Local Elections
8th
Green Streets begins in halls
1st to 30th
Leave Leeds Tidy Campaign
18th
New Student Executive training begins
30th
Student Changeover
July
1st
August
6th to 10th
New Student Executive take over Planning for the next academic year Action Children’s Summer Holiday Older People’s Tea Party
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TOGETHER WE’LL MAKE SURE YOU
YOUR TIME For more information, please contact: Ben Fisher Community Officer Tel: 0113 380 1242 Email: B.J.Fisher@leeds.ac.uk Twitter: @BenFisher11 Our Community team Tel: 0113 380 1325 www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk