Students and staff collect charity donations and volunteer for Give Back Month

Students and staff at the University of Chester collected hundreds of items of food, clothing and toiletries for charity while volunteering across the city as part of Give Back Month.

More than 130 toiletries, over 110 items of food and 30 items of clothing were donated and delivered to West Cheshire Foodbank and Chester Aid to the Homeless (CATH) during the annual initiative, which ran in November and December.

A total of 74.5kg of goods were given to the Foodbank, with the remaining items given to CATH after being collected at donation stations at the Exton Park, Kingsway, Wheeler and Queen’s Park University sites in Chester.

The month and collection was co-ordinated by the University’s Volunteering and Mentoring team while Library and Careers teams hosted the donation stations and the Mail team helped bring the donations together.

Also during the month, a volunteer opportunity was organised with a Chester care home, where students and staff visited residents to run a Christmas craft session. Meanwhile ‘Welly Wednesday’ student volunteers helped at a hedge-laying session at the Countess of Chester Country Park with TCV (The Conservation Volunteers), and helped clear ‘Moby’, the sculpture at Exton Park which collects plastic bottles. Further volunteering opportunities from various charities were also promoted to students, as throughout the year.

Jo Morison, Volunteering and Mentoring Manager at the University, said:

“Thank you to everyone who contributed to Give Back Month.

“Students, staff and visitors were very generous with their donations of long-life foods and drinks, warm winter clothing, toiletries and personal hygiene items, as well as with their time in volunteering and supporting the collection.

“It’s been wonderful, once again, to be part of such a collaborative effort to do what we can to spread festive cheer and do our bit in the season of giving.” 

West Cheshire Foodbank is an independent charity providing emergency food to people in crisis. CATH (Cheshire Aid to the Homeless) strives to help improve the lives of people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.