Students and their local communities
Do you have good practice examples of working with your local community? For example, has your students’ union set up a group of student volunteers who go and visit elderly people in care homes? Or maybe a theatre group with local children? Have you raised money for a local charity, or encouraged students to take up volunteering activities in the community?
We want to hear your stories, and help spread good practice to other students’ unions. The best initiatives will be published below on this page (scroll down for stories we have received so far!).
We want to encourage students to make a positive contribution to their local communities, and fight of claims of ‘studentification’.
If you have set up something you are particularly proud of, and want to share it with other officers, fill in our short questionnaire (5 questions). We will publish the best stories on this webpage within two weeks.
Click here to take survey 
Your stories:
The Guild of Students Liverpool160 students are taking part in the LSCA project. LSCA is a registered charity. Students are involved in Trustee roles and running student-led projects working with the elderly, homeless people, refugee and asylum seekers and children, as well as providing awareness-raising projects for students.
The project has benefited the local community by providing increased services, and a direct link between the University and the local community where they live, which has many benefits like for example raising aspirations and awareness of Higher Education and the routes into it. Our activity also makes students feel part of community and possibly stay on in the city, addressing local skills shortages and supporting diversity in Liverpool.
Contact at the Guild: Paula Atherton
Students' Union at Bournemouth UniversityWe have a volunteering department that run everything from one day volunteering projects such as painting a classroom in a school. We have roughly 250 students volunteers. The department also operate weekly volunteering opportunities such as listening to children reading in a primary school to assisting in homes for the retired. We have also been involved in local campaigns such as campaigning for the council to build an arts centre.
The volunteering department has benefited the local community through using students to do some good. Many of the projects our students have been involved in would never have got off the ground without their involvement.
Oldham College Students' UnionThe Oldham College Students' Union held a Valentine's Party at a local nightclub were more than 400 students turned up. Through ticket sales, Oldham College Students’ Union managed not only to cover costs but also to raise £170 for Dr. Kershaw's local hospice.
The students had fun at the party, and the hospice benefited financially. The charity event has developed a positive link between a local business and a local charity.
Contact: Naomi Sanderson - Student Liaison Co-ordinator
Further guidance if you are thinking of setting up an event
NUS recommends the Universities UK report on 'Studentification: a guide to opportunities, challenges and practices'. The report highlights how local authorities, communities and higher education stakeholders such as students' unions can work together to better integrate students into their local environment.
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