The Branch - June 2016

June 2016

This is the third edition of The Branch for 2016. Manchester Student Homes’ Good Neighbours Team has had a busy and eventful Spring with lots of projects and news to tell you about!

Making a Difference Award Manchester Student Homes was awarded a Making a Difference Award 2016 in recognition of its outstanding contribution to social responsibility at The University of Manchester through the Halls 2 Home project. We are extremely proud of this achievement and will continue to help the university achieve its strategic vision of socially responsible graduates.

Halls 2 Home is a project shaped by students which supports student transition from Halls of Residence to private sector accommodation. The campaign increases awareness of the community, facilitates student involvement in off-campus areas and educates students on their responsibilities while living in the community promoting the culture of being a ‘good neighbour’. The project is supported by partnership agencies, such as Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council.

For more information about Halls 2 Home visit our website www.manchesterstudenthomes.com/Pages/ Community_H2H or email Josh Payne (Community Cohesion Intern) at joshua.payne@manchester.ac.uk

Manchester International Student Safety Campaign The Manchester International Student Safety Campaign is making excellent progress and we are excited about seeing the final products! The campaign was created to provide additional support for international students studying in Manchester through educating them about personal safety and household security. The campaign will take the form of a safety guide, safety message tea towels and an animated safety video.

The student safety guide has been created in collaboration with partner organisations such as Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire & Recue Service and the NHS. The guide is in the final stages and will be ready to print this month!

A mock image for the safety message tea towels has been created. This image has a map of the Oxford Road corridor, highlighting key buildings, and contains information on the Student Safe Zone scheme.

Finally, the student safety video will be created by a student director studying at MMU and filming will begin later this month!

We will keep you update on our progress!

Manchester Student Homes is a free, university-run housing service for students. Based in Fallowfield, MSH runs a landlord accreditation scheme and can offer support to students in relation to property searches, providing housing advice and contract checking. MSH also works with students, the community and partner agencies to identify issues in off campus areas.

Give It, Don’t Bin It! Give it don’t bin it is a partnership student move-out collection and recycling campaign.

Unwanted household items and clothing are being donated to The British Heart Foundation (BHF) and go directly towards raising funds vital for lifesaving treatments and research. In 2015 alone, students donated items worth up to £322,000 to the British Heart Foundation!

A few weeks ago student, landlord and community volunteers helped put together BHF student leaving packs which are being distributed to student properties on the 6th, 7th and 8th June 2016. Alternatively if you do not have a BHF pack you can place your unwanted goods in a sealed bag and place them within the metal BHF bins in various locations off campus. The off campus bins will be in place until the end of August.

Student Safety Campaign ‘WOLF’ Wary of Light Fingers The ‘WOLF’ campaign is the safety element of our Halls 2 Home Project and focuses on educating students on personal safety both on and off campus.

Throughout April, MSH in partnership with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has held safety stalls at Manchester Metropolitan University, The University of Manchester and Sainsbury’s Fallowfield. At these stalls we distributed the WOLFIE promotional merchandise along with providing safety advice and guidance.

Unopened non-perishable food products are being donated to our partner food charities Fare Share and Manchester Central Food bank. These charities help tackle food poverty by taking surplus food and redistributing to the people who need it most.

The events were a huge success and enjoyed by both students and staff alike! Our mascot Wolfie attracted a lot of attention and we managed to capture a few of those moments below. We would like to thank everyone who took part and remember to stay wary of light fingers!

If you would like to make a donation please bring your unopened food products to our office located at: Unit 1-3 Ladybarn House, Moseley Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, M14 6ND

For more information about the WOLF campaign or our other projects please visit our website or email Josh Payne (Community Cohesion Intern) at joshua.payne@manchester.ac.uk

Furthermore your donations help Manchester City Council to significantly reduce the amount of items sent to landfill, helping the environment as well as saving landfill costs. Last year this meant that the Council were able to invest £50,000 back into the local community!

Manchester Student Homes has updated its website so you can now find out more about our thematic policy areas and their related campaigns! www.manchesterstudenthomes.com/ Pages/Community_H2H