Thanks to the support of UWE Bristol students, the local community and staff, The Students’ Union at UWE’s RAG Team has raised £97,461 since the start of September. UWE RAG is run by staff and the RAG Committee – a volunteer-led student group (Alex Renton, Lois Stone, Ella Obhrai, Phong Phan, Hannah Carr and Emily Whitehurst), who put on events throughout the year, which aim to raise money and awareness for a range of campaigns and not-for-profit organisations.

Events this year have included; LOST - a challenge which saw groups of students dropped in an unknown location 100 miles from UWE Bristol, with no money and just 12 hours to get back to campus. The sell-out Sports Does Strictly competition, which saw individuals from a range of sports teams perform a dance routine taught to them by a member of the UWE Dance Club. We continue with the Movember campaign, which surpassed last year’s total and raised a massive £4442 for the Movember Foundation, and had another successful Jailbreak, which saw teams of students battling against each other to see who could get the furthest away in just 36 hours, with teams making it to Italy, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Germany!

Augusta, President of The Students’ Union at UWE, commented:

“Your immense support has enabled us to contribute to other charities locally and internationally. These organisations have been committed to impacting positive change in communities that have been negatively affected by the pandemic, amongst other prevailing issues. We applaud all student fundraisers for their creativity, energy and dedication.”

The money raised from these events has supported a variety of charities including; United through Sport, who work with disadvantaged children and use the power of sport to improve education, raise health awareness and build life skills; Bristol Mind who provide mental health support to people in Bristol area; The Christina Noble Children’s Foundation that works with disadvantaged families in Vietnam; and The Students’ Union Community Fund, which distributes funds to a range of local charities. This year our Community Fund has been distributed to Bricks, Prospect Hospice, Islamic Relief: Yemen Appeal, Julian House, Choose Love, The Watershed and SARI (Stand Against Racism and Inequality)

The Students’ Union would again like to thank the UWE Bristol student community for supporting UWE RAG and helping us drive positive change. It is because of their support and hard work that we are able to achieve our fundraising goals!

If you would like to find out how you can get involved with UWE RAG and for more information visit: www.thestudentsunion.co.uk/community/fundraising