Community Update May 2011
Leeds University Union (LUU) Volunteering and Community Office
Message from Paul Gold Outgoing Community Officer at Leeds University Union Hello everyone, As the academic year comes to an end, I would like to take the opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved by LUU and our partners in Leeds. Our relationship with partners and friends in Leeds has grown tremendously, with more collaboration and more positive impacts from our students than ever before: over 1,500 have volunteered their time with 111 groups in the local area and we look forward to continued involvement in the future. In addition, our bus campaign has helped reduce fares from Headingley to town for all users and our students have supported local campaigns from the Royal Park Community Consortium to Kirkgate Market. See the pictures to the right from the recent launch of the ÂŁ1 fare buses on the 95 route. The upcoming months will also see the return of the Leave Leeds Tidy and Green Streets campaigns that saved over 20 tonnes of material from landfill last year, much of which was recycled back into the local area. This year, we hope to achieve this target to help make Leeds a tidier and more eco-friendly city. I would also like to welcome the incoming Community Officer, Ben Fisher who will take up the post in July. Ben has been President of LUUâ€&#x;s volunteering society ACTION and will be an extremely capable officer. You can contact him via email at b.j.fisher@leeds.ac.uk Finally a massive thanks to our students for all their hard work, and a thank you to all our partners in the community; it has been a fantastic year and a pleasure to work with you all. All the best, Paul
Page | 1
Advice We’ve Given Students This Month:
Leave Leeds Tidy: The months where students move out of their current accommodation are approaching and the Leave Leeds Tidy team are already working to continue their award-winning work. We have been advertising the scheme so it‟s easy for students to participate in making Leeds a cleaner place. See below for more news from Leave Leeds Tidy over the past month.
Noise and House Parties: As students go through the exam period some finish earlier than others. Recently we‟ve been informing students of the importance of respecting their neighbours if they plan on celebrating.
Shop Local: To follow-up the publication of our community Shop Local leaflet – conceived, designed and distributed by our Union Community Representatives - we have been encouraging our students to shop in their local area to support the local community.
Moving House: For most of our students moving out of our Halls of Residence, they will be moving into their own home. We‟ve been letting students know about our „Living in Leeds‟ site where we have compiled our advice on moving house and living in the community – everything from eco-friendly living to getting involved where they live. If you wish to have a look at the site, head to www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/livinginleeds
In The Community This month our Little Woodhouse Union Community Rep (UCR), Becca Doyle, has been working closely with the Little London Community Centre for their annual Community Day. The Little London Community Day will be held on Saturday 11th June from 12pm-5pm on the grounds surrounding the community centre on Oatland Lane. The event has been running for the previous ten years and has always been a great success for the local community. The day will feature a variety of stalls and activities including DJ workshops and arts and crafts. The main aim of the day is to bring together all residents who live in the local area together for a day of celebration of Little London. If you are interested in volunteering on the day, please contact Becca on unillucr@leeds.ac.uk In addition, Lauren Hill, the UCR for Burley, has been involved in the organising of the Royal Park Community Consortium „Mega Concert‟ that aims to raise awareness and money for the Royal Park School. Featuring performances from a total of seven bands and four DJ‟s, the night is sure to be a great event. The event is on the 8th June from 7pm – late. Tickets are on sale at Jumbo and Crash Records for £4.50 To find out who the Union Community Representative is for your area, visit http://www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/volunteeringandcommunity/ucr/
Page | 2
Leave Leeds Tidy (LLT)
Reducing the impact of the student changeover period on the local communities of Leeds. Every year thousands of students move between houses or away from Leeds over the same couple of weeks at the end of June and start of July when housing contracts end. As a result of this big move, residential areas around the universities suffer from a massive amount of rubbish left on the streets. To help combat the burden that this waste has on the local community and the environment, Leave Leeds Tidy works with the student-led, award-winning Green Streets team who collect any items which would otherwise be sent to landfill, and redistribute them to charities, hostels and shelters, and by holding several free shops over the summer. Last year, Green Streets successfully diverted over 21 tonnes of reusable, unwanted items from landfill. This month, the LLT team has been working their way through the task of folding 10,000 bags and posting them throughout the LS6 area. If you live in this postcode area keep an eye out for our green leaflets and red bags appearing in your house soon! Check www.leaveleedstidy.com, and follow @LeaveLeedsTidy on Twitter for the latest news and to see our plans for the year!
Leeds for Life Awards
Recognising the hard-work and achievement of student volunteers. The Leeds for Life initiative aims to get students to broaden their experiences by making sure they are aware of all the clubs, societies, volunteering and overseas travel opportunities Leeds University has to offer. Now the university has held an awards ceremony to recognise the best examples of students volunteering. The awards showcased a variety of volunteering work which Leeds University students have carried out and two students who volunteer through LUU picked up awards on the night. Harry Coleman was recognised for his work recruiting student volunteers for the HOMED society after a remarkable year of fundraising and Ben Fisher, incoming LUU Community Officer, was awarded for creating new volunteering opportunities within LUU. Both students received the Outstanding Achievement award. Leeds University‟s Vice Chancellor, Professor Michael Arthur, said: “I personally feel humbled by these amazing young people who despite significant academic and social commitments, still find the time and dedication to support others. As we enter challenging times for the sector as a whole the university has a firm commitment to Leeds for Life and the student experience.”
ACTION Proving students can make a difference in their local communities.
Following on from the success of the Easter Holiday Project, where disadvantaged local children were treated to a week in the Lake District by student volunteers, May has been another month filled with residential projects and trips away.
Page | 3
The first trip this month is a weekend away on May 27th-29th organised as part of the REACH project. The volunteers will be taking young people aged 12-16 to Whitby as they wouldn‟t normally have the opportunity to enjoy the exciting trips and activities planned for the weekend. The children will be spending a day on the beach, bowling and visiting Flamingo Land for the day. The second event is a day trip which will take place on the 28th May as part of the Saturday Stars project. The team will be taking a group of children with learning difficulties to Harewood House. Each child is given a volunteer „buddy‟ who looks after them through the day and together they will be exploring the bird garden, the adventure playground and the beautiful grounds of the house itself. ACTION volunteers were also celebrating this month after being awarded the Best Society award at the LUU Riley Awards 2011 – a fantastic achievement considering there are over 330 student volunteering societies at the Union! To find out more about ACTION and their work, head to their website at http://www.leedsaction.co.uk/ or follow them on Twitter @LeedsAction
Leeds RAG (Raise and Give) The Official Fundraising Body of Leeds University Union.
This month Leeds RAG have been preparing for their multitude of summer projects that include:
The Uganda Project: Volunteers will be heading to Africa in the middle of June for a month building schools in the Murchison Region of Uganda and teaching lessons to the local children. This year the project‟s fundraising total for the charity Softpower Education is set to surpass £50,000.
The Thailand Project: A group of volunteers will be heading to Thailand to spend six weeks working in an orphanage of disabled children. The volunteers will help Thai staff care for and stimulate the children with arts and crafts, music therapy, day trips and teaching the children essential skills.
The Bulgaria Project: This project also sees volunteers working with orphans but those under the age of five. The volunteers will be assisting the very limited number of staff in attending to all aspects of the children‟s care from feeding and changing to playing with them and encouraging communication and development. Volunteers also take small groups of the children to the local park as they have not have been outside for months or even years.
The Hitchhike to Croatia: Thirty students have scrapped their plans to catch a flight to the Soundwave Festival in Croatia and instead have raised £150 each for the Poppy Project who provide help and support to victims of sex trafficking and have recently had their Government funding cut. Their alternative method of transport? Hitchhiking over 1,300 miles across Europe!
More groups of volunteers will also be climbing Kilimanjaro, hiking to the base camp of Mt. Everest and building playgrounds in East Africa. RAG‟s total fundraising for the 2010/11 academic year is set to surpass a remarkable £250,000.
Page | 4
For more information on RAG’s activities and the latest news and events, visit http://www.leedsrag.org.uk/ or follow them on Twitter @LeedsRAG
The Bardon Grange Project Bringing together members of the local community and students to increase local organic food production in Leeds.
The Bardon Grange Project is excited to announce its very first festival as we spring into summer! „Bard Fest‟ is our way of saying a big thank you to all our volunteers for their help so far this year, to welcome some new people and visitors along and to celebrate the season. Expect a good barbeque, plants and compost for sale, some gentle gardening activities including 'sow your own' and pot painting for kids, music, jumble stall, and more. Bring your friends along and spread the word! A quick note on the jumble stall - it will be a bit like a bring and buy sale, so if you've got any bits and pieces that you no longer want them bring them along and add them to the stall. We'll then just be asking people for donations for items, with donations going to the project. Alternatively, if you bring something along then you can swap it with something else that's there! In the garden its all systems go - with such a warm spring, everything is merrily growing! Our broad beans and peas are doing well, potatoes are coming up nicely, and our tomatoes have just been planted out into the polytunnel. We'll be at Kirkstall Festival, on campus and at a few other places over the coming months so look out for us with lots of veg and flower plants for the garden. Also, our Wednesday afternoon gardening sessions are on 3.30-7pm - open to everyone, students and non-students. Come along for a chance to learn more about gardening, pick Caroline‟s, our resident Grower, brain about growing food, and share ideas and tips with others. Refreshments provided! For more information the project, see our website at http://www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/volunteeringandcommunity/bardongrange/
If you have any questions or wish to find out more about these projects or other ways which our students are helping in the local community, please do not hesitate to contact us at vandccomms@luu.leeds.ac.uk Follow us on Twitter for all the latest news throughout the month at @VolunteeringLUU!
Page | 5