Bishop Grosseteste University's Students' Union (BGSU) has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award after raising over £46,000 for charity.
It's a finalist in the Most Improved Fundraising Group category at this year's FIG (Find, Invest, Grow) National Student Fundraising Awards next Wednesday (27th August). Run by elected students to represent the interests of students, BGSU raised around £5,000 during the last academic year. This year, however, it has managed to raise an impressive £46,031.32 - eight times more than last year!
Chris Robertson, former Raise and Give (RAG) Officer and newly elected SU President, said: "It's amazing to see how far BGSU has come this year. To have raised almost 10 times more than last year's amount and be nominated for a top award are both incredible achievements! "I would like to thank everyone who has helped us either by taking part in an event or making a donation. We couldn't have done it without your support."
The money has been raised through a number of activities including a week-long hitch-hike from Lincoln to Croatia and a jailbreak challenge where students had to travel as far away from Lincoln as possible in 36 hours without any money; the winning team managed to travel to Paris.
The majority of the cash, however, was raised by a group of 41 students who went on a three-week volunteering trip to Romania to help teach English to children and renovate local buildings. The group managed to collect over £37,000 thanks to individual donations and taking part in various fundraising events including sponsored sports matches and the Lincoln 10K. Twelve different charities will benefit from the £46,031.32 raised, including Cancer Research UK, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and the Bishop Grosseteste University Foundation Fund.
The Reverend Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of BGU, said everyone at the university is extremely proud of what the students' union has managed to achieve. "The amount the students have managed to raise during the past 12 months is phenomenal and will make a massive difference to a lot of people's lives," said Professor Neil.
"I wish BGSU the very best of luck at this year's FIG National Student Fundraising Awards and hope they come back with a trophy. Even if they don't win it is still an incredible achievement and will hopefully inspire our students to raise even more in the coming academic year - although admittedly £46,031.32 is a hard target to beat!"
The winners of the 2014 FIG National Student Fundraising Awards will be announced at a ceremony on 27th August 2014 at the National Railway Museum in York.