{"id":5039,"date":"2023-03-10T14:03:44","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T14:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/?p=5039"},"modified":"2023-03-07T15:36:15","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T15:36:15","slug":"kent-kinda-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/economics\/2023\/03\/10\/kent-kinda-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Kent Kinda Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Along with Tommy, Shivali is on a mission to create safe and supportive spaces on campus, destigmatising conversations about mental health. We asked them about some of their incentives so far, creating supportive events for students and fundraising for charities including Mind and Student Minds.<\/p>\n

Shivali<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cHi, I\u2019m Shivali. I am the President of\u00a0Kent Mind Society<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and a third-year Economics student, looking at a career in Philanthropy after my involvement in many of the Community Action Groups here at Kent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tommy<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cHi. My name is Tommy and I am the Campaigns Coordinator for Kent Mind Society. I\u2019m an MSc by Research student in Computer Science and I\u2019ve been a part of many societies throughout my four years at the University of Kent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tell us about Kent Mind Society.<\/b><\/h3>\n

\u201cKent Mind Society is a very new society on campus, started in August, with the aims of creating safe and supportive spaces on campus, destigmatising conversations about mental health, and fundraising for Mind and Student Minds.<\/p>\n

We founded Kent Mind to help with the demand for support as we face a student mental health crisis and our desire to enact change on campus.\u00a0We\u2019ve run a wide variety of events from socials, fundraisers and wellbeing drop-ins, and we\u2019ve raised awareness for important dates like Disability History Month and Time To Talk Day.<\/p>\n

Our greatest success this year was the launch of the \u2018Safe Space\u2019 initiative last term, providing a supportive environment with blankets, lights, board games and study materials for anyone who feels lonely, low or bored on a Friday night. This was a safe alternative to \u201cFriday Night Drinks\u2019, and we are excited to relaunch the initiative bigger and better in the Summer Term.<\/p>\n

We also coordinated the first Community Action Group Christmas Market last term, and are looking forward to the upcoming Spring Market on the 8\u202fMarch (13:00-16:00 in Keynes Atrium).<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had the great privilege of working with other local charities such as Porchlight, supporting their NHS-commissioned project on 18-25 year olds who have experienced mental health crises.<\/p>\n

We continue strong this term with our upcoming calendar of events for University Mental Health Day, including a Bingo Fundraiser at Woody\u2019s (6\u202fMarch, 20:00-22:00) and our Spring Prom at Venue (9\u202fMarch, 22:00-02:00,\u00a0tickets available now<\/a><\/strong>). More details can be found on our Instagram.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Shivali<\/a><\/p>\n

What advice would you give to other students?<\/b><\/p>\n

Tommy<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cI think that it is important to remember that your mental health is the most important thing. It can be very easy for the university workload and life to get on top of us, and we need to remember that it is acceptable for us to take a step back and look after our own wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shivali<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cMy best piece of advice is to take note and make sure to do at least one thing every day that\u2019s just \u201ctime for myself\u201d. Whether it\u2019s 5 minutes of reflection, going for a walk or having a long bath, try and make time once a day to look after yourself.<\/p>\n

What are your plans for next year?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cDuring our summer term, we hope to continue our \u2018Safe Spaces\u2019 initiative to provide a chilled and relaxed space amongst all the exam-related stress.<\/p>\n

In the next year, we would love to continue our fundraising schemes and collaborate with other Community Action Groups, sports clubs and societies to raise even more money for some great causes.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d also love to work closer with student committees to raise awareness of how to look out for your members and be considerate of mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shivali Raichura is studying for a BSc (Hons) in Economics<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n