We could not be prouder today to celebrate the success of the young people who took part in Social Action Week 2021, smashing all previous records and raising a staggering £50,024.84 for causes and organisations that mean a lot to them.
This was our fourth successful Social Action Week, organised with our Unloc partner school, Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic we were unable to run the event in 2020, much to the disappointment but understanding of all who would be involved.
Each year, the students of Hills Road are set a team challenge of raising a minimum of £200 in three days for a charity of their choice. There has been huge success in previous years with students collectively raising over £26,000.
Whilst Social Action Week is a week for students to have fun, engage in community activity and raise money for charity – what it boils down to is a week of students enriching themselves in social action and when they put their minds to it, learning that they can make a huge difference and impact on society.
The disappointment on not being able to participate last year has provided a huge drive behind the young people who engaged with this week’s activities, inspiring and empowering them to break all previous amounts raised and really go for it to succeed!
Naturally, the week needed to look slightly different in comparison to our previous years due to social distancing and following the Covid Guidelines in order to keep themselves and their communities safe.
The usual whole school assembly was instead replaced by a series of back to back explorative Social Action Project Planning workshops run by both our Unloc team and the fantastic Enrichment and tutor team at Hills Road.
During this time, the students revisited their preparation for the week through understanding what social action is, and more importantly the difference that they can make in their local community through raising awareness for their chosen cause.
We aimed to embed in the students from the beginning to choose something which they felt passionate about raising money and awareness for, and fundamentally knowing the difference their money could make.
A variety of charities were chosen from local charities such as; Jimmy’s Cambridge, East Anglia Children’s Hospice, Tom’s Trust and Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre to national charities such as MIND, Cancer Research UK, The Little Princess Trust and a number of Palestine Relief Charities.
Just Giving pages were set up, social media plans were made and fundraising goals were set ready for the students to spend the next 3 days raising money for their chosen causes. Following their journey’s on Instagram using #HillsSocialAction – we were kept fully entertained and engaged with their incredibly innovative and creative ways to fundraise.
Cambridge and the wider network saw the students taking on sponsored activities such as walking, running, cycling and even punting; alongside giving back to their communities with litter picking, bake sales, car washing and even the Cambridge canines benefitted with multiple dog walks.
By the end of the week, the students come together to present to their tutor groups and tutors the success they have achieved, what challenges they faced and to celebrate the differences they’ve made to their charities. We expected students this year to find the week slightly more challenging than before. As a result of the pandemic, some students had spent hardly any time together and didn’t know their peers as well as they usually would. This of course posed some challenges when the week required such close teamwork.
However, Principal of Hills Road Sixth Form College, Jo Trump commented:
“For this cohort, who didn’t really know each other well and have had such limited opportunities to socialise, this week feels like it has come at just the right time. There were so many lovely comments from the students about loving getting to know one another better and about how much they have enjoyed working together for a cause beyond themselves.”
Whilst a colleague commented:
“They praised each other, critiqued each other, had fun, learnt so much, thought on their feet and changed their minds on some campaigns midway through for a more successful outcome. I was so impressed. So lovely to see them interacting with each other in a positive way”
As a result of their hard work, dedication and motivation for supporting their cause – the students collectively raised a staggering £50,024.84!
An unbelievable amount of money that will, in turn, make such a difference to so many great causes and lives. It is without question that the students at Hills Road have made an exceptional change to many lives during the week, but importantly have learnt a lot of valuable lessons in themselves and understanding how much of a contribution and impact they can make.
Well done to everyone involved, to the young people for your quick thinking, ingenuity, business sense, and drive, to your partners at Hills Road Sixth Form College, thank you for your hard work, support and enthusiasm, and to our own facilitators for all their dedication and coaching. A fantastic effort by all!
For more information about Hills Road Sixth Form College click here!
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