Student Survey Raises Thousands for Charities

12th May 2014

Students at Sheffield Hallam University have raised more than £10,000 for national and regional charities, by completing a survey about their university experience.

The University pledged to donate £2 for every student who completed the recent 2014 National Student Survey (NSS) and had a fundraising target of £10,000. As a result, 78% of final year students filled it in, raising a total of £10,230. The money will be shared equally between the four charities nominated by Hallam Union's fundraising committee Raise And Give (RAG). This year's chosen charities are; The Children's Hospital Charity, Rotherham and Barnsley Mind, Macmillan Cancer Support and Oxfam. Hallam Union officers and representatives from the four charities attended an official cheque presentation on Thursday 8 May by the University's Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor John Leach. Rob Turner, fundraising manager for Macmillan in Sheffield said, -I really can't say thank you enough to all the students and the University for raising such a wonderful amount for Macmillan. -Sadly the number of people being diagnosed with cancer is increasing every year and that means the demand for Macmillan's support for people living with cancer is higher than ever before. Over the next two years, we are investing over £2 million in South Yorkshire to develop a number of new services and projects, the money raised here will go towards funding these and help us get closer to our goal of making sure that no one faces cancer alone. Gemma Bower, community fundraiser at The Children's Hospital Charity, said: -We are overwhelmed by the amount of money Sheffield Hallam University has raised from the National Student Survey. We want to say a huge thank you to every single student that completed it you are helping to transform our hospital for our courageous young patients and their families.  The money raised will be going towards our Make It Better Appeal, which is vital to the future of our hospital. The appeal aims to match world class facilities with the existing world class care, creating the best possible environment for children to get better more quickly. The NSS survey results are used to identify any improvements that need to be made for the next generation of Sheffield Hallam students. Professor John Leach said: "It's a fantastic achievement to have exceeded our fundraising target for this year and it means a lot to the University to be able to raise money for these worthy charities through the NSS survey. The incentive for students to raise money in this way means we had one of our best response rates this year, which will help to ensure we continue to improve all aspects of our student experience." Sophie Amos, activities officer at Hallam Union said: "We're delighted to have topped £10,000 for the first time and are confident we can beat it again next year."