The last year has brought about many challenges for the education sector and the pandemic has certainly changed the university experience.
However that hasn’t stopped some fabulous students using their degrees as an opportunity to run virtual charity events at university in aid of Against Breast Cancer’s vital research.
These students have also been able to develop their CVs, learn new skills and gain work experience, all whilst using their strong passion for fighting secondary spread breast cancer, the main cause of all breast cancer-related deaths.
Rachel, an Event Management student at the Liverpool John Moores University, has raised over £1,000 and has given an insight into her experience arranging an online Friends-themed trivia night:
“We chose to fundraise for Against Breast Cancer because breast cancer hits home with a lot of us, as we all knew someone who had been affected by the disease.
When we first researched into Against Breast Cancer we were impressed by their bra/stamp and ink recycling schemes, not only creating income to assist the research in finding a cure but also helping less fortunate countries where items like bras are considered a luxury.
“We knew breast cancer affected a lot of people however we were shocked at the statistics, with almost 1000 people losing their lives to breast cancer each month.
“Our event was an online Friends themed trivia night along with a gin tasting. Included in the ticket price was access to the event and our postal gin in a box packages, which included 4 miniature gins, lemonade and tonic, sweet treats and informative leaflets about the charity. The event was a huge success, and we learnt a lot about fundraising.
Some people may be intimidated by the thought of raising money for a charity as they feel like they have to raise thousands otherwise it isn’t successful. However, this is the wrong mindset, every donation goes towards crucial research so that one day we can have a cure for breast cancer, no matter how big or small.
“For people who are debating doing a fundraising event or activity, I couldn’t recommend it more! Another thing that we learnt is that there are plenty of people who are willing to help! We reached out to a lot of companies to see if they were able to support us by supplying us with items for our event and the response that we received was overwhelming. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!”
Meanwhile Ellie, who studies Fashion Business and Promotion at Birmingham City University, arranged a virtual sustainable fashion event for Mother’s Day as part of her course:
“Being all online this year, it has been a challenge! Our last module was events management and as a group, we had to create a virtual event. Our event was called ’Styling a Shero’ and it focused on bringing mothers and daughters together for Mother’s Day, giving them fashion advice with a push to be sustainable.
Previously, this module has required students to hold an in-person event, raising money for charity. In 2021, the brief didn’t include charity work due to it being a virtual event, however, as a group, supporting a charity was something we wanted to carry out, raising money for vital research, during difficult times.
With our target audience being women, and personally knowing so many women affected by breast cancer, I researched breast cancer related charities. Against Breast Cancer just seemed like the perfect charity for our cause. I contacted the charirty via the website, and they got back in touch immediately. They offered us content for our virtual event, they promoted our event to social media and were so helpful and supportive with what we wanted to achieve.
Every single donation we got will benefit Against Breast Cancer, and they are so appreciative. Overall, we raised £180 in a few weeks. Furthermore, after speaking to ABC, I am also donating my old bras to them, to support their crucial research, in order to help the women we all know and love.
Honestly, I am very proud of what we have achieved, not only did we hold a successful, virtual event, we raised money for such a brilliant charity. I encourage everyone who is thinking of raising money for a charity, to look into Against Breast Cancer, they couldn’t have been more willing to be involved and helpful.
We cannot thank these wonderful ladies enough for their support! If you are a student, you will surely be inspired to get involved yourself and arrange your own charity event at university.
Get in touch with us or, if you are need a bit more inspiration, take a look at our university fundraising page.