We are RGU:RAG, the Raising and Giving branch of RGU:Union. We organise a calendar of events and volunteering opportunities to assist a number of local, national and international charities. We are always looking for ‘Raggies’ (YOU) to get involved, to help out at events or think of new ideas. Personally I think RAG needs to up its game this year as it has been a little quiet of late. You may not know what RAG is now but I can assure you by the end of year you will consider yourself a RAG expert. We want to be heard this year and to do that we need to loud... and LOUD WE SHALL BE!!! I am as determined as ever to make this year as successful as possible. Whilst I want to raise lots of money I want the key message to remain - people must have fun and feel what they are doing is making a difference. Success will come from this. So have a browse through the RAG MAG to find out a little more about us and to see what events we have planned for the year. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date.
Marty McGouran RAG Chair 2015/16 ragchair@rguunion.co.uk
These core committee members assist in the organising of the overall running and support for the fundraising efforts of students and staff throughout the academic year. We are looking for more students to join our team! More Info on Page 9.
RAG CHAIR Marty McGouran
SOCIALS OFFICER Leanne Fahy
STUDENT GROUP COODINATOR
STUDENT GROUP COODINATOR
FIRST AID AFRICA OFFICER Hannah Jeb
CHILDREACH OFFICER Aileen MacAlister
Lucy Ritchie
David Munro
Who Are We? We are students who want to make a difference and have fun doing it! As the fundraising arm of the Students’ Union, we organise year-round exciting events and challenges to raise money for local, national and international charities. In previous years we have raised total of over £100,000 to support a variety of brilliant organisations.
Why do we do it? Put simply, we do it to help people! Through fundraising we are able to support amazing charities and work to create positive change. And the best part is that this involves meeting loads of new people, travelling to new places and having new, exciting experiences!
How do I get involved? It’s easy! Anyone can be a part of RAG – we’d love to hear from you. Head to the Students’ Union and speak to Stevie Kearney (Student Development and Volunteering Officer) to see what current opportunities we have or get in touch using social media or email.
Joining RAG was one of the best decisions I made when starting at RGU. I have met so many people who I wouldn’t have come across had I not been in RAG, made some of the closest friends, learnt so many new skills and had the opportunity to do some amazing things I never imagined. RAG has given me the chance to be involved in fundraising and volunteering while having fun at the same time. I would recommend everyone to join RAG, wether it be a long term thing, a one off event you want to take part in or a chairty you would like to help these are fantastic opportunities that are often recognised by future employers.
RGU:RAG was the first and only group I joined in first year. I have been a RAGGIE now for 6 years and it’s part of my life. RAG has given me opportunties to do things I never thought I would ever do. It’s not every day you climb a mountain, model in an underwear fashion show, abseil down the RGU Library Tower, ride a float around Aberdeen in fancy dress or bungee jump of a crane at lunch time. Not only did I have so much fun, I met so many people and I helped raise lots of money for incredible local, national and international charities
Being involved RGU:RAG has been an incredible part of studying at RGU! Through helping with RAG, I’ve had some of the most fun, hilarious and wild experiences of my life. From dressing up as Batman and riding through the city centre on the back of a lorry, to hosting a student auction, to collecting money for a huge range of causes, RAG is an experience that cannot be missed. For the students, it’s a fun and exciting way to get involved, but the work that RAG does and the charities it donates to change the lives of hundreds of people, and it makes you so proud to be been able to get involved and actually make a difference. I’d highly encourage everyone to get involved in RAG!
In previous years we would have weekly meetings to discuss things of a RAGGIE nature. This year we have decided to try something new with FEWER MEETINGS AND MORE SOCIALS! So for the first order of business we are no longer calling them ‘RAG MEETINGS”. RAG Round Up is the new name for our catch up meetings where we’ll be discussing events, learning about the charities we’re working with and explaining how you can get involved. These will happen closer to events but not so close as to leave us short of time to plan and discuss our all important RAG plans. Meetings with a purpose! The first RAG ROUND UP will be an informal chance for you to meet our committee and hear a little about what RAG is and what we do. We will be inviting some previous RAG Chairs, committee members and RAGGIES along to share and to give you a quick chat and maybe take a question or two. After that we will have some ice-breakers to get you to relax a little. You will then have the chance to have a look at the new RAG MAG, have a glimpse of what we have planned for this year as well as hear about our challenge events. We’re also coming up with some activities to keep things fun and engaging throughout the year, to give you some downtime away from
lectures and studying. Second order of business - ‘RAG SOCIAL’ will now be known as RAG-A-DOO! To make sure that this is not just seen as a snazzy name we are hoping to recruit a whole team of social officers this year as opposed to having just one! Wanna be a RAG Social Officer? Then come along to the RAG:AGM (See page 9). We believe downtime, team bonding and just having some plain unadulterated FUN are essential to making your RAG experience just that - AN EXPERIENCE! We will be planning a number of events ranging from a pub quiz to bowling to cinema trips and not forgetting a Christmas night out! Come along, get to know us, have a laugh and meet your fellow Raggies. Never think RAG is not for you. We do not discriminate and pride ourselves on having students involved from all walks of lives! We believe in Diversity!
FRESHERS WEEK GO Purple for CLAN. Date: Sat 19th- Sun 27th CLAN will be our selected charity for this year’s Fresher’s Week. To help raise awareness of this amazing charity over the week we will be encouraging RGU students to don something purple, take a photo and post it onto the RGU:RAG Facebook page!
The Big BBQ Tour! Date: Sat 19th- Tues 22nd We’re offering tasty burgers and operating a make-a-donation policy perfect for any hangover cure or just to fill an empty belly.
ChildReach - Climb Mount Killi Information Evening. Date: Thurs 24th Time: 5pm Where: Room 508 (Faculty of Health)
Come along to our information talk and to find out more about the charity and how you can get involved in this once in a lifetime trip to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro! More info on page 18.
Freshers Team Auction. Date: Thurs 24th Time: 9pm Where: Campus Still got unpacking to do? Fed up cleaning those dishes already? Or just need someone to carry those library books. Come along to Campus and bid for one of your fresher’s team members to be yours for a whole day. Why do your own dirty work when where is someone to do it for you!?! Prizes to be won at our Raggie Raffle!
CLAN Landmark Walk. Date: Sun 27th Where: Westburn Park
Work off the excesses of Fresher’s week by putting your best foot forward and take part in this sponsored walk around Aberdeen to raise awareness and funds for CLAN and sweat out that excessive alcohol and greasy foods from Fresher’s Week. The CLAN Landmark Walk is a sponsored 13 or 7.8 mile walk which takes in various sights around Aberdeen.
First RAG Round Up. Date: Wed 30th Time: 7pm Where: Campus Bar Come along for a meet and greet and a little taster as to what RAG is all about! If you haven’t already got it, RAG stands for Raising and Giving and we definitely put the FUN in fundraising! Come along and become the next generation of RAGGIES! Meet some of the existing committee members, former chairs and Raggies. Under 18’’s welcome! No membership fee needed! It’s that simple.
First Aid Africa Information Evening. Date: Thurs 1st Time: 5-7pm Interested in teaching first aid in sub-Saharan Africa? Come along to our information talk and find out more H410 5-7pm. See page 18 for more info.
GIVE IT GO WEEK! Date: Mon 5th - Friday 9th RGU:Union’s ‘Give It A Go Week’ is back for a 3rd year, providing students with an opportunity to get involved with the many groups, societies and clubs at RGU. During this week we will be running a small fundraiser - nothing too big or too flashy. Just something simple enough to give you a taste of what it is to be involved with RAG, to learn about fundraising and charities.
RGU:RAG AGM With A Twist! Date:Tues 6th We would like as many of you as possible to come and elect the best students to continue running our events. All students of RGU, new and old, are encouraged to come along and help ensure RAG is moving in the direction you want! As part of RAG we have all raised over £100,000 for various charities over recent years: Being part of the committee is great fun, you meet many new friends and you pick up important communication, publicity and project management skills to add to your C.V and impress employers. It’s almost like adopting a second family. This AGM will have a fun element to it this year, something missing from previous years. So come along to find out more or go one step further and ‘GIVE IT A GO!’
RGU:RAG Round Up! Date:Wed 7th & Wed 21st No rest for the wicked! With RAG WEEK only days away we need to get planning!! Come along to both meetings to find out what is happening with RAG WEEK and have YOUR SAY on planned events for the week but don’t worry if you can’t make these meetings you can still come along and take part at ANY time that suits you.
RGU:RAG WEEK - It doesn’t get any bigger than this!! Date: Mon 26th - Sat 31st RAG WEEK is our annual week of charitable events dedicated to raising money for our student-nominated charities and a whole host of other charitable causes. There are loads of events to choose from and every single penny of profit goes to charity! Returning much earlier than its traditional February slot and wanting to make up for last’s year’s quiet times we want to start the year with a BANG! Kicking off we are invited to take part in this year’s Cyrenian’s Sleep Out (a charity that tackles local homelessness). It takes place on Monday 26th October in the car park of Union Square shopping centre. Participants will spend the night sleeping rough to experience just some of the realities and discomforts faced by homeless people on a daily basis. We will be looking to bring back some of the old favourites including bake sales, pub quizzes (Harry Potter is always a hit), Nippy Dip (yes, that’s right, running into the North Sea in October - if you’re brave enough), a band night and keep your eyes peeled for some exciting new events.
Movember - From peach fuzz to massive beards - RGU:RAG does Movember! We will be engaging in a campus-wide Movember initiative, bringing together students, academic and non-academic staff and RGU graduates to take part, grow a moustache and support fundraising for important research into men’s health issues such as prostate and testicular cancer and mental health issues. Running through the entire month of November we dare people to try and grow the most impressive moustaches possible! We will be running various competitions throughout the month with prizes for things such as best fundraiser, most FB Likes, best tash and so on. If you would like to be involved in organising this campaign, we would love to hear from you!
Movember Launch Party. Date: Monday 2nd Time: TBC Where:TBC Celebrating all things MOvellous and TASHtastic, join RAG as we launch the RGU Movember Campaign. We will be hoping to give you lovely people free close shaves to start Movember with a fresh face and Ron Burgundy (the King of Tashes) will be showing on the big screen. Wonderful.
RGU:RAG Round Up. Date: Wednesday 4th Time: TBC Where:TBC We are looking for people to get involved with this year’s planning for Children In Need Week. There will be something for everyone, from designing posters to researching charities, so come along to the first meeting to find out more.
Inspire Firewalk. Date: Thursday 5th Time: 4-7pm Where: Queens Links, Aberdeen Be inspired to walk the fire! Test your bravery by walking over hot coals to raise funds for people with learning disabilities and additional support needs throughout the North East of Scotland.
Children in Need. Date: Thursday 5th Time: 4-7pm Where: Queens Links, Aberdeen This is your opportunity to let your wild side take over! In past times we have run around campus and explored the pubs and clubs of Aberdeen dressed as Where’s Wally and various animals. This year we have acquired the use of the Official BBC Children in Need mascot Pudsey Bear for a few days. Even more reason to do something bigger and better than previous years. So get your RAG hats on and let us know your fundraising ideas.
RGU: RAG Round Up. Date: Wed 18th Time: TBC Where:TBC With the festive period fast approaching we are looking to really have a big presence this year and share some of that fun-loving RAG spirit as well as raise some more funds. So come to the meeting to see what we have planned and to see where you can contribute.
Dreams Come True- Family Fun Day. Date: Sat 21st Time: Where: Marks & Spencer, City Centre
The Dreams Come True children’s charity have invited us along to their Family Fun Day being run in conjunction with Marks & Spencer in the city centre, with a fancy dress street collection, raffles and much more. We can dress up and take part in the street collection or go that step further and do something original. Sound good to you? Get in touch for more info.
World Aids Day. Date: Sat 28th In order to mark World Aids Day on 1st December we will be teaming up with the LGBT+ Society and hitting the streets of Aberdeen on November Saturday 28th with our collection buckets and Santa hats to support NAT (National Aids Trust). On Tuesday December 1st we will be setting up some stalls around campus and if we’re lucky local drag queens might come along and help us sell some red ribbons and help students and staff to unite in the fight against HIV and show their support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate people who have died.
Movember Closing Party. Date: Mon 30th Come along to the RAG Movember closing party. We will be selling our moustaches and moustache baked goodies! As well as playing pin the moustache on Burt Reynolds, Charlie Chaplin and Hulk Hogan, we have a crown for the best moustache, so if you have used the month wisely to hone your facial hair skills, then you should come along to be in with a chance of winning!
Today is a BIG deal for RGU! Christmas Toys Drive Launch Date: Tues 1st- Wed 9th This Christmas the RGU Gaming Society and RGU:RAG (Raising and Giving) will be working together with a donation drive across the RGU campus in the first week of December (invite your friends to the event to tell them about it!). We want you to “give the gift of games”! We will be accepting donations of any kind of games - board games, video games, toys, sports games, puzzles, etc - whether they are brand new or are in need of a new home. We find that playing games each week really brings people together, with plenty of long-lasting friendships being formed at the Gaming Society. Look out for the gold donation boxes at your building’s reception and at RGU:Union between Monday 3rd and Sunday 9th December!
Food Bank Campaign Date: Tues 1st We are partnering with TLC Foodbank this Christmas and are looking for any donations of non perishable foods. TLC is a charity that operates two foodbanks in the city to help people in food crisis. They have assisted RGU students who have been in need, and food drives have previously been held on campus at Christmas to help stock the foodbanks. Winter is a time when the need for emergency food provisions can be acute, but is also a time when people can be particularly generous.
Volunteering For Aberdeen Cyrenians. Date: Tues 1st It’s always nice to help those less fortunate around the festive period. We’ll be hoping to send some volunteers along to help pack together food parcels to help Aberdeen’s homeless community.
Santa Fun Run. Date: Tues 8th Keeping with the Christmas theme, RAG will be putting forward a team of willing volunteers for the 6K Santa Fun Run (or walk!!) If you are interested in taking part - get in touch - you even get a Santa suit to keep!
Festive Bag Pack. Date: Sat 12th Where: Marks & Spencers in The City Centre
Because they love us so much the Dreams Come True Children’s Charity have invited us along to their festive bag pack at M&S. This will be an all-day event and we are hoping some Raggies can add a fun element to it such as face-painting, or carol singing - just something to encourage the Christmas cheer. If you know all of the words to jingle bells (or even if you don’t) we need your help.
Festive Bag Pack. Date: Sat 12th Where: Marks & Spencers in The City Centre Because they love us so much the Dreams Come True Children’s Charity have invited us along to their festive bag pack at M&S. This will be an all-day event and we are hoping some Raggies can add a fun element to it such as face-painting, or carol singing - just something to encourage the Christmas cheer. If you know all of the words to jingle bells (or even if you don’t) we need your help.
RGU Carol Service. Date: Wed 16th Where: Faculty of Health
We are privileged to once again be given the opportunity to come along and collect money at the annual RGU Carol Service being held in the Faculty of Health.
Underwear Fashion Show. Date: Tues 12th This is one of RGU:RAG’s most infamous events, bringing glamour to Aberdeen. We are looking for brave models (guys and girls) to strut their stuff on the catwalk, hair dressers and makeup artists to beautify our babes and backstage volunteers to make everything happen. There will be lots of glamorous prizes up for grabs!
Valentine’s Day- Love always Wins! Date: Fri 12th Warming up for Valentine’s Day we will be hosting a charity bake sale and spreading the love through sweets and treats. It is a perfect way to kick things off, but it doesn’t stop there, oh no. Got a Valentine in mind? There will be a special delivery service available where you can buy a rose from the RAG team and have it delivered to your special someone in their lecture. In true student fashion for any charity event, there’s Cupid Gnoming. Don’t know what that is? Put simply; it’s either the best day of your life for having stitched up your mate or your worst fear realised.
Pancake Day. Date: Tues 4th We are looking for willing students to come along and stuff their faces to see who can eat the most pancakes in a set time and chase those prestigious Mr & Mrs Pancake crowns for 2016.
“Go Pink” Day! Date: Fri 7th RGU:RAG wants students and staff to wear something pink for a day to help raise awareness of breast cancer. To coincide with Breast Cancer Care ‘Big Pink Bucket Collection’, in conjunction with Mother’s Day, we would like some volunteers to grab a few buckets and spread out around campus to collect funds and help to further spread awareness of issues related to breast cancer.
Red Nose Day. Date: Friday 13th March We would like you to again to spread across campus with collection buckets to help collect money for comic relief. This is also YOUR chance to come up with some bizarre event to raise money as part of the great national campaign!
Torcher Parade. Torcher Parade is one of Aberdeen’s biggest annual charity events, run by the Aberdeen University Charities Campaign. We will be working extra hard this year with the SU, Aberdeen University and Aberdeen College to try and bring this event back to its former glories. Students from all 3 institutions will be invited to design floats to be paraded through Aberdeen City Centre. So if you’re good (or not so good) at DIY, have a good idea for a theme or just fancy dressing up, RAG NEEDS YOU! This is also a good venture for societies to get involved and get some public exposure.
JailBreak- How far would you go for chairty? Jailbreak is one of the most popular events run by various RAGs around the country! Starting from RGU, pairs of participants will flee and try and get as far away from the University as possible in 36 hours. No money can exchange hands so you have to get by on your charm and powers of persuasion. We have been threatening to hold RGU’s Jailbreak for a few years now and would really like to make it happen this year. Do you want to get involved? Do you want to know more? Do you want to help us make this exciting event happen? If so, GET IT TOUCH!
Student Achievement Ball. This is one of the highlights of the year as it gives us a chance to recognise everyone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty for RAG. It’s a great night of celebration of all our volunteers and the we have the potential to win lots of awards. Awards can be won from doing as little as 10 hours of volunteering. See page 17 for more info!
World Asthma Day- Wed 27th April Wednesday 1st May is World Asthma Day, however due to the end of the semester, we would like to hold a collection across campus on the week before. If possible we would also like to have a table in the health building or ABS atrium, where we will have information leaflets and materials regarding asthma.
Presentation Day This celebration showcases all the great work we have done throughout the year, giving us the chance to meet the different charity representatives who will want to thank you for all you have done! This is a day to be really proud, a day to stand tall, chest out, shoulders back and shout “RAGGIE! RAGGIE! RAGGIE!”
What we are trying to say is - RAG is student-led and therefore depends on students to use their skillsets, as well as learning new skills to help make us successful. Yes we may have what looks like a fun filled and busy calendar of events BUT the one important point we would like to hammer home is - these events WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT STUDENT INVOLVEMENT!
Opportunities
We have opportunities for ALL STUDENTS! We especially want to reach out to events managements, marketing, graphic design and media students this year. For every event we have, just think - we need to plan it, organise it, put together a PR campaign to market it, have someone take photos during the event - we think you get the drift! If you are interested to find out more please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Have your efforts rewarded!
Every hour spent with us counts as a volunteer hour, allowing you to take advantage of the Saltire Awards - a scheme which encourages young people to volunteer, and lets you log hours and work towards gaining certificates and recognition for the good work you do. Consider the benefits of volunteering; not only do you receive training and practical experiences in challenging and rewarding situations, but we can help you gain recognition for this good work – the certificates that you receive will look fantastic to prospective employers - not forgetting the fun along the way!
Climb Mount Kili This year RGU:RAG are supporting ChildReach International by sending a team of students (AGAIN!) to the rooftop of Africa - the highest free standing mountain in the world - Kilimanjaro! Seriously, we can do this, but not without YOU! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something truly amazing! Standing above the clouds and watching the sunrise in Tanzania is something you will never forget! A 4 day assent and 2 day descent through the varying terrains of the mountain, and the opportunity to visit local ChildReach International project to see where your money goes and extra days for some independent travel as well. If you think you have what it takes to do this ultimate challenge or you are interested in knowing more about the charity and/or the challenge itself, please come along to the information meeting on Thursday 24th September at 5pm in Room 408 in the Faculty of Health Building Straight after Fresher’s Fayre!
Prague Marathon Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic “City of Fairy Tales” is the perfect place to visit for anyone who’s interested in history, culture or beauty. Join RAG and Choose a Challenge in taking on the marathon in Prague in May 2016 in aid of Breast Cancer Now. The start and finish of the race, which ranks among the top ten marathons in the world, is at Old Town Square in the historic centre of Prague. Perhaps no runner will forget the first few strides of the marathon to the sounds of Smetana’s Vltava and more than twenty bands along the route will accompany you to your destination. The Volkswagen Prague Marathon includes traditional side events, such as the Marathon Music Festival & Sports Expo Fair. Pop along to room H508 in the Faculty of Health on October 5th from 5-7pm to find out more information and also meet Sam from Choose a challenge and Hollie from Breast Cancer Now.
First Aid Africa First Aid Africa (FFA) is a humanitarian charity that aims to educate people in rural and remote areas of South Africa in basic first aid knowledge, where they have little or no access to first aid treatment or equipment. FFA can provide students with an amazing and exciting opportunity of volunteering on an expedition in Africa to teach valuable life saving knowledge, such as treating a burn with no running water, how to splint a broken leg with locally resourced material and more. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer then drop by room H410 on Thursday 1st October (5-7PM) to find out more about what the charity does and how to volunteer. You can also take this opportunity to meet the RGU FFA President Hannah Jebb and a representative from the FFA charity.
SAVE A PENNY FOR RGU:RAG Like the look of these cute little piggies? We will be giving these away at the start of the year. In taking a little piggie you are signing up to a scheme to save some pennies for charity. When you get your piggybank we will ask to name it and we will also take your name and email address. Throughout the year we ask you to put your spare change in them. At the end of the year we will contact you to collect any money raised. You will be given a choice of three charities to donate to which will be decided by a student vote. Either way, if you have not saved any money - the little piggy is yours to keep.
Catch us at the freshers fayre for your first chance to sign up for your little piggy!
H OT E L , S PA A N D R E S TA U R A N T
rgu:
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