I've been working hard this month to achieve results for societies and students. Here are some of my highlights!
Next of kin issue and society finances
I’ve been pushing towards a solution to the ‘next of kin’ issue that occurs when students (especially freshers’) go to buy their memberships, without filling out their next of kin (NOK) details. It’s unclear for people why they can’t purchase their memberships, which causes confusion and discourages them from buying a membership.
To combat this, graphics have been produced to clearly demonstrate how to complete your NOK details to help prevent confusion. I am also working with the IT Team, to work on a way of effectively inputting NOK details when an individual buys a society membership.
A longer term project that I’m working on with the Finance Team is an app to help make society finances easier. This app should allow societies to view their balance and submit payment vouchers, as well as other useful functions.
RAG - Raising and Giving
I’ve been working with our RAG (Raising and Giving) Team to lead on some fundraising events that are coming up in the next couple of months. These events should be a perfect fit for societies and students, who often want to fundraise, but don’t have the opportunity to do so.
By hosting these events, it makes it easier for societies and students to raise money for charity. The first event is the ‘Sleep Out’ taking place on 17 October and will see students sleep outside to raise funds for homeless charities. The second is an abseil down the side of Southmead Hospital on Saturday 26 October, which is raising funds for the Southmead Hospital Charitable Trust.
Both of these charities are close to the hearts of different groups of students. If you want to get involved with either of them, email me for more details! I’d love to see whole societies engaging with these events.
Sustainability Officer and Marketing
I want to make it as easy as possible for societies to be sustainable. In aid of this, I’m going through the process of introducing the option to have a Sustainability Officer as a committee position. This will allow there to be a dedicated individual who can focus on completing the ‘Greener Futures’ scheme, which is already in place.
This is a scheme, that rewards societies and sports clubs for being sustainable, and as such incentivises societies to be sustainable. The Students Union at UWE is the top students’ union in the UK for sustainability, so let’s make sure this is true for our societies as well! Make sure to look out for the official launch. I’ve also been discussing with the Marketing Team increased society exposure through their Facebook, Instagram and other channels.
Training
I and the Presidents Team attended ‘SpeakUp’ training, which taught us how to go beyond being a bystander in tense situations and how we can integrate the training into society.
I also attended Sustainability training, led by staff from The Students’ Union and the National Union of Students. The training taught me a lot about the importance of sustainability and how The Students’ Union can improve even more from its #1 position.
Finally, I enjoyed visiting ‘Off the Record’ on the Presidents RAG away day and seeing the positive impact they have on UWE Bristol students.
I’ve also been answering society queries, attending meetings about The Student Centre (The Farmhouse), interacting with students at clearing, and working with the other Presidents on our joint projects, which includes a food fair.
Pop into The Students’ Union building (Union 1) if you want a chat or have any ideas or issues. You can also contact me via vpsocsandcomms@uwe.ac.uk, slide into my Twitter DM's or send a Facebook message.