Worry not - Student Community Action is your constant, reassuring presence
in the trials and tribulations of Easter term (which can be fun,
remember?!).
Anyway, hit reply to this e-mail and Susan at the office will sort you
out. Many of these things need not take up much time at all.
Here goes
1. VOLUNTEERING GOLD AWARDS - NOMINATIONS OPEN
2. BIG SIBLINGS PROJECT LEADERS
3. THE CAFÉ PROJECT IS OPEN!
4. WILLOW FOUNDATION - PIECE OF CAKE CAMPAIGN
5. SCA CHOCOLATE FOR CHARITY DRAW
6. RED2GREEN
7. BRUSH UP
8. SITTING IN SERVICE
9. ADMIN VOLUNTEER PLEASE!
10. SIGN UP FOR NEXT TERM AND SORT OUT ALL YOUR WORRIES
Weekly theme: in honour of the glorious sunshine, my 10 favourite northern
coastal towns.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Scarborough - you won't understand unless you've spent a day at North
Marine Road.
VOLUNTEERING GOLD AWARDS - NOMINATIONS OPEN
The Community Affairs team at the University is co-ordinating the 2008
Student Volunteering Gold Awards. Up to four nationally-recognised awards
will be made to student volunteers at the University of Cambridge. These
will be made across three categories: Leadership, Dedication and
Achievement.
Please find attached a nomination form for anyone to nominate an outstanding
student volunteer. Please return these nomination forms to Nicola Buckley in
Community Affairs, using the contact details on the form, by 4pm on Friday
16 May. Winning students will be notified by Friday 6 June.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Matlock - make sure you pop into the farmers' market on the third
Saturday of the month.
BIG SIBLINGS PROJECT LEADERS
Big Sibs has often been one of our most popular projects.
Volunteers are paired with the child of a lone parent, a child who has
special needs, or with a child who has a family member with special needs.
The project gives children a chance to get to know another adult outside
the family, and gives both parent and child a break from each other.
Volunteers enjoy the opportunity to meet people in a relaxed home
environment, escape the pressures of University life for a while, and have
the perfect excuse to enjoy childhood pleasures again.
Can you spare a couple of hour of weeks to help us run this worthwhile
project. Yes? Be in touch!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Filey - used to be the thriving home of Butlins' Holiday Camp until its
sad closure in 1984.
THE CAFÉ PROJECT IS OPEN!
"What is the Cafe Project? We're a volunteer-run community cafe in central
Cambridge (22 Jesus Lane), open in the evenings and serving hot drinks and
simple food. The space is an alternative to the loud, alcohol focused
college bars which are currently available to students, and aims to create
a bridge between students from different colleges and between students and
non-students in Cambridge. It is also available as a focal point for
meetings, discussions, talks, music and art exhibitions,
We're now open! Regular openings 7-11 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays;
8-10 Wednesdays with CUSU Ethical events. We're looking for volunteer
waiters (no experience needed) and bakers! You can volunteer on a regular
basis or sporadically."
If you'd like to find out more or get involved, get in touch.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Whitby - you never think of the mysterious castle in the same way having
read Robin Jarvis' "The Whitby Witches".
WILLOW FOUNDATION - PIECE OF CAKE CAMPAIGN
The Willow Foundation is a national charity dedicated to improving the
quality of life of seriously ill young adults aged 16 to 40 through the
provision of special days.
The Piece of Cake campaign has been running for three years now and really
is a very effective way to raise funds for the charity. Simply decide where
to hold your party and plan a day to suit you, we can supply the cakes -
courtesy of Mr Kipling who is sponsoring the campaign - and then we will
invite local press along to the party.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Sheringham Town - "jewel of the North Norfolk Coast" (according to its
website).
SCA CHOCOLATE FOR CHARITY DRAW
Buy chocolate bars from your SCA college reps or the SCA office at £1 per
entry and enter our prize draw, raising money for us to continue our work
and projects. You could win a double ticket to the Jesus May Ball, a double
ticket to the Pembroke June Event, two tickets for Jazz@Johns, a bottle of
Southern Comfort, Cava or CUP books worth around £30.
If anyone interested in selling chocolate, come to SCA office and we'll
give you a pack. Draw takes place on Tuesday 3rd June at 2pm, all entries
in by 1pm. If chocolate can't pull the crowds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Skegness - their Jolly Fisherman poster is celebrating its 100th
birthday this year.
RED2GREEN
Red2Green is a registered charity which runs projects across Cambridgeshire
providing leisure, educational and work opportunities for over 600 people
with a wide range of disabilities. These disabilities include mental health
problems, learning disabilities, sensory impairments, physical disability
and social communication disorders.
This fantastic organisation has an Open Weekend coming up on Sat 17 and Sun
18 May. They are still looking for volunteers to help serve refreshments,
and to help with the raffle and tombola.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Hornsea - if you're ever in town, try Whitehead's chippie at 6 The
Greenway.
BRUSH UP
We think this opportunity is great so we decided to stick it in again!
Feel like a complete break from studying? As part of our new project Brush
Up! we need volunteers to help clear out, reorganise and redecorate a local
charity shop which raises money for a community centre in an area of social
disadvantage.
The charity shop has given us 3 possible dates for a 2-day blitz. You could
volunteer for a half-day session within this period, or for one or the
whole two days if you need a serious break!
The possible dates are:
- 27th & 28th May
- 2nd & 3rd June
- 19th & 20th May
Whichever 2 days attracts the most volunteers will be picked. SCA has
raised the funds for the materials, all we need is the volunteers to do all
the hard work! Do help out with this worthwhile cause. Hit reply and let us
know you're coming
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Cleethorpes - home of Pleasure Island Family Theme Park. Take the kids
and the perhaps even the grandparents.
SITTING IN SERVICE
SCA runs a sitting-in service for lone parent families, or those where one
of the parents or children has special needs. Once they are matched with a
family, volunteers provide a sitting in service for them once a week or
fortnight. The break provided by our volunteers is often the only one the
parent(s) get.
All homes are visited when a family registers for sitters. For safety
reasons volunteers always sit in pairs, so you can register with a friend,
or be paired with another volunteer by us. So, if you could cope with
having to watch TV, drink coffee and spend a quiet evening in, this is your
chance to visit the real world and make a difference.
Also calling interested project leaders for sitting in service. You would
be part of the process that makes the whole thing happen!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Newbiggin-by-the-Sea - pop down to St. Bartholomew's Fayre on August
Bank Holiday weekend.
ADMIN VOLUNTEER PLEASE!
Admin volunteers needed in our office to help out for an hour a week with
tasks such as filing, sending for references, making an inventory of
resources, mail-outs etc. If you fancy a break from exams get in touch.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Bridlington - the working harbour is 900 years old, beating Cambridge
University hands down.
SIGN UP FOR NEXT TERM AND SORT OUT ALL YOUR WORRIES
Calling all first and second years It might seem like the last thing on
your mind, but you'll thank us - honestly!
Criminal record checks and references - a necessary part of volunteering
these days - take a long time to process. Therefore pop into the office
over the next few weeks to sign up for a project, and your paperwork will
all way be waiting for you at the start of next year with minimum fuss for
all. Feel good about yourself by doing very little.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh I do like to be beside by the seaside and to get involved in lots of
volunteering." Bet you didn't know that's how the original line ended.
Harris
(SCA Vice-President)
