A group of students and Kent Union staff volunteers spent last Friday afternoon chatting, singing Christmas songs and sharing stories with a group of senior citizens from the local Age UK Day Centre.

Over a cup of tea or coffee, the volunteers enthusiastically entered the spirit of the afternoon and the centre users were thrilled to share stories of their lives and hear all about what our volunteers are studying, where they work and about their lives in general.

The chatter was only interrupted by outbreaks of singing to accompany the beautiful piano played by a student volunteer from the music society.

As the centre users were bussed home they were waved off by our smiling volunteers with a promise from both sides to come back and visit again very soon.

Student Volunteer Nikita Sunkari said, ‘It was amazing to hear the stories they had to tell us and it was really inspiring. We all got into the Christmas spirit and I definitely would love to go again.’

Such was the success of this session at Age UK Canterbury that Kent Union hopes to run similar sessions regularly next term. Email t.abbott@kent.ac.uk if you’d like to take part.

Whether you’re out celebrating after assignment hand-in or having one final night out before you go home for Christmas, take note of the following safety tips to make sure your festivities aren’t spoiled.

Stick with your friends

The best way to stay safe at night is to stick with your friends. But if you find yourself on your own, here are some tips:

• If on campus, use our night-time walking taxi service by contacting Campus Security (Canterbury only)
• Get a registered taxi – save some money for the end of the night, so you can be brought straight home
• Check the 24-hour bus timetable
• Get a free personal safety alarm from Campus Security in Canterbury or the Medway Building reception in Medway
• Go out with Medway Activities. The University-run Medway Activities team organises a range of social activities including night club trips which include transport from Liberty Quays (Medway only)
• Be alert – don’t walk home listening to music or on the phone
• Stick to well-lit and busy areas. Avoid car parks and underpasses
• Keep your valuables hidden – cover-up expensive looking jewellery, mobiles, keys, cash and cards

There’s more safety advice on the Kent Police website.

Watch your drink

Avoid getting spiked by following these safety measures:

• Don’t leave your drink unattended
• Never accept a drink from a stranger or someone you don’t trust
• If you feel ill, slightly drunk or wasted when you know you shouldn’t, your drink could have been spiked. If so, tell someone you trust and get to a safe place

Drinkaware also has some tips for limiting how much you drink on a night out.

The School of Politics of International Relations invites you to our second Public Speaker Programme event to be held next week.

On Wednesday 10 December we are delighted to welcome Dr Wolfango Piccoli to the University of Kent. Dr. Piccoli will be giving a talk on ‘Political Risk in Emerging and Developed Markets: Anticipating Global Challenges’ in Grimond Lecture Theatre 3 at 5pm.

The talk will draw on Dr Piccoli’s expertise as a managing director and head of research at Teneo Intelligence, a political risk consultancy firm.

The event will be followed by a drinks reception in the Aphra Foyer.

We look forward to seeing many of you there.

For more information email p.ashby@kent.ac.uk.

Britain’s Got Talent is holding auditions at our Canterbury campus on Tuesday 9 December.

Auditions are open to any performer of any age, from any background and with any talent.

Please email talent@canterburymedia.net to request an audition slot.

Auditions will take place in the Media Centre from 12 to 3pm. Each audition can last up to 10-minutes.

Under 18’s must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

Image credits
Author: Ben Sutherland
Licence: CC BY 2.0
Link: https://flic.kr/p/aPLhxp
Source: Flickr

On 24 October, Raise and Give (RaG) groups from over 230 different universities, including Kings College London, Nottingham and Leeds, travelled to London to raise money for Breast Cancer Campaign, with 47 people from Kent RaG joining them.

They spent the day in London collecting donations in their charity buckets – dressed in pink.

Helen Lafferty, a RaG member, tells us how the RaG raid helped bring members together for a good cause:

‘Our volunteers all met so many new people, raised thousands of pounds for charity, and had an incredible experience we will never forget. I would absolutely love to go again, and am looking forward to the next RaG raid’.

Overall Kent RaG raised £11,771 for Breast Cancer Campaign – this money goes towards research projects that are attempting to find a cure for breast cancer, as well as awareness campaigns that aim to familiarise people with the signs of breast cancer so that they can seek early diagnosis. RaG’s top fundraiser, Charlotte Cox, raised an amazing £694.31 in one day!

Many volunteers who went on the raid were first-timers. If you’d like to join the next RaG raid look out for information on Kent RaG’s Facebook page.

For the University’s 50th anniversary, Kent Union and its volunteers have been given some money to redevelop the campus garden, to create a peaceful space away from busy campus life.

Not only does this project give students the opportunity to shape the way that campus looks, it’s a great way to get beat deadline stress and gain some practical skills.

Volunteers are invited to come along to the sessions which are taking place every other week and help clear the shrubs and plan what the garden will look like in the future.

The first session involved clearing large areas of the ground to provide a new base for development – five volunteers came out on a remarkably warm day to help out.

The second session involved painting the campus garden shed to make it a more friendly space for volunteer gardeners to meet.

Tom Abbott, Kent Union’s Volunteer Projects Coordinator, is leading the project:

‘Despite the cold weather five volunteers took up the task of painting the shed up at the campus garden – I was really impressed with their dedication and hard work. Once the project is complete the shed will be a base for all the activity we hope will go on at the garden and thanks to the Kent Union volunteers.’

If you’re interested in getting involved it’s not too late – this project will continue on into next term. Email volunteering@kent.ac.uk to register your interest or visit Kent Union’s website to sign up for the next project.

The student-led volunteering society, Canterbury Homeless Outreach (CHO), is passionate about helping the homeless.

The student group fundraises for homeless charities such as Porchlight and Catching Lives, and aims to raise awareness of issues affecting homeless people.

CHO recently held a ‘Party for Porchlight’ to celebrate 40 years of the Charity’s work and raise essential funds to support the work they carry out. The event was a huge success and featured a raffle, apple bobbing, Halloween themed drinks and loads of giveaways!

The Penny Theatre hosted the event and Canterbury Homeless Outreach did all the organising. 15 volunteers were closely involved in the planning of the event and the whole society contributed to decision making, leafleting and walking buses.

This was a fantastic effort made by Canterbury Homeless Outreach volunteers and the event raised an amazing £584 through ticket sales alone. Making a significant contribution to their £5000 fundraising target for the year.

Canterbury Homeless Outreach a number of bucket collections this month so keep an eye out on their Facebook page for details of how to get involved.

Stage Spiders is a student-led volunteering society that works with children and young people to encourage their confidence and creativity.

It also raises money for a number of charities such as Demelza Children’s Hospice and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity.

This November, Stage Spiders took to the plaza in their pajamas and onesies to raise money for Children in Need. They had a brilliant day spent outside Essentials in their onesies and pyjamas, painting faces and speaking to students who were passing by. In total they managed to raise £264.74. With the money they raised from their Virgin Money fundraising page this total was boosted to an amazing £434.74.

If you want to find out more about Stage Spiders and how to get involved check out their page on the Kent Union website.