RAG 2015-2016
@UPSUrag @plymouthrag facebook.com/plymouthrag
Contents Welcome
4
Staff Support
5
Hitch Perfect & Jailbreak
6
Winter Ball
7
RAG Week/Challenges
8
Cycle London To Paris
10
Kilimanjaro
11
Budapest Marathon
12
Machu Picchu
13
Morocco Atlas Mountains
14
Uganda Gorilla Trek
15
Freshers’ Week Events
20
join us! We want you to join us for the best year Plymouth RAG has ever seen! Not only is RAG membership free, you will also get up to date e-mails about all our events activities and how to get involved with fundraising through our international adventure and national campaigns. Some of the roles we are currently recruiting for are: Events Officer, Promotions Officer, and Hall Co-ordinators to name but a few. To sign up or find out more about our committee role vacancies, find as at the Volunteer Fair on Tuesday 22nd September or Sports and Societies fair on Wednesday 23rd September or go to the Fundraising/RAG page on the UPSU website.
RAG fres he r s re ps Fancy yourself as a bit of a BNOC in your halls this year?! Apply to be one of our Reps for your Halls of Residence! You will help spread the word about RAG and everything fundraising, promote RAG opportunities and most importantly organise events within your halls with a committee of fellow like-minded fresher’s. If you’re a sociable, outgoing individual this is the perfect opportunity for you to meet loads of new people, have a laugh and do something amazing for charity. E-mail hello@ragplymouth.com for more information!
Hello and welcome to this years RAG Mag! For those of you familiar with RAG, welcome back! For the Freshers among you, let us take a moment to explain what RAG is and how it works. We are RAG (Raise and Give), a student group dedicated to hosting many events throughout the year and putting on lots of exciting fundraising opportunities while raising money for some amazing causes. Last year alone RAG and the student body raised £200,000, this year we are looking to top this and further raise awareness of RAG. We run University wide events such as our flagship Winter ball, Jailbreak hitchhiking challenge, Take Me Out, Pizza Eating Competitions, RAG Week, Skydives, Sumo wrestling and many more! All our events raising funds for our three student body nominated charities: Brain Tumour Research, Plymouth Mind and Children’s Hospice South West.
Brain Tumour Research Funding the fight
This year we have some amazing overseas challenges such as climbing Kilimanjaro, hiking the Inca Trail in Peru, trekking the Atlas Mountains, exploring to find Gorillas in Uganda, cycling from London to Paris and running the Budapest Marathon. All in the name of raising money for charity! There is something for everyone, whether you want to take part in, or run the event, set yourself a challenge or simply want to meet new people. Our membership is free and we
really think you’ll enjoy taking part. We’re also extremely happy to help you with any of your own fundraising projects and have the resources and support to make your project happen! Should you have any questions or would like to become a part of RAG please drop one of us a line! RAG President: Jessica Vagg jessica.vagg@students.plymouth.ac.uk RAG Vice-President: Kieren Perry kieren.perry@students.plymouth.ac.uk
staff support Within the Volunteer department, there is a dedicated member of staff here to support any student group whether society, sports club, academic, halls, partner college or kind individual who wants to do some fundraising. Perhaps you would like to put on an event for the national campaigns we support: Red Nose Day, Sports Relief, Children in Need or the epic Movember. You could support RAG’s charities, nominated by you. Or you can always fundraise for a charity or organisation closer to home. When planning a charity or fundraising event please contact: alex.bordoli@su.plymouth.ac.uk
hitch p erf ect Hitch Perfect is a fresh, brand new RAG Event for 2015! The ultimate hitchhiking challenge from Plymouth to Amsterdam, a race against the clock to see which team can get to Amsterdam first! After hitching your way across the continent, party all night at our exclusive arrivals party and then spend a day or so exploring the beautiful city of Amsterdam. For more information drop us an e-mail at: hello@plymouthrag.com
jailbre ak RAG’s Big Brother of events Jailbreak is back this year! 36 hours and £0 to race against other teams from Plymouth University to see who can get the furthest! Are you up for the challenged? This exciting hitchhiking challenge is one of RAG’s most popular events and is a unforgettable experience for your time at university. We have had teams reach as far as Croatia! How far can you and your friends get?! Plymouth RAG’s Jailbreak! Coming Spring 2016…
the winter ball RAG and UPSU Sports & Societies present the 2015 WINTER BALL! The Winter Ball is one of the biggest events of the year – you just can’t afford to miss it! A luxurious black-tie event with a transformed SU, decadent theme and hundreds of UPSU students with one of our top in-house DJs. Sound good? Get that suit pressed now! DATE: 13TH DECEMBER Keep your eyes out for more information, coming soon...
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The biggest fundraising week of the year! RAG and Sports and Societies plan and run a whole host of Fundraising across campus. Make sure your club doesn’t miss out and e-mail the RAG team to get involved. hello@plymouthrag.com
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Skydive Fire Walking Colour Run Abseil Rock Solid... All coming soon!
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london to p a ri s c y c l e
london to pa ri s c y c l e Cycle London to Paris Challenge for Breast Cancer Now! On this amazing adventure you will join thousands of other likeminded people on a 330km Cycle from the Big Smoke in England, through the rural fields of France until you reach Paris! The charity Breast Cancer Now, is the biggest UK Breast Cancer charity and by taking on this challenge you could help towards there goal to stop all deaths from Breast Cancer by 2050. Come along to our Information Meeting on Tuesday 29th September to find out more!
“Raising money for Breast Cancer Now was a privilege, and hearing the stories of survivors and those effect by breast cancer really hit home what a difference the fundraising would make.” Ruth Titmuss – UPSU President
k ili m a njar o Do you fancy trekking the highest mountain in Africa and the largest free-standing mountain in the world? Watching the sun rise over the African plains? All whilst raising money for the fantastic charity Meningitis Research Foundation? Then Kilimanjaro is for you and is an incredible experience you will remember for the rest of your life. Come along to our information meeting on the Thursday 1st October at 6:30pm in Stonehouse Lecture Theatre, Portland Square Building for all the details.
“Climbing Kilimanjaro was without a doubt the best and also the hardest thing I’ve ever done. One massive adventure that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
James Brown – Kilimanjaro Adventure Leader, 3rd Year Engineering Student
budapest m arath o n Always wanted to run a marathon? Why not do it in the party capital of Eastern Europe! Plymouth RAG will be running the 2016 Budapest Marathon raising money for The Children’s Society. We will train, sweat and fundraise together – a great opportunity to make friends and support a worthy charity. The Children’s Society works nationwide with a sole aim – to help Children. Come along to our Information Meeting on Tuesday 6th October at 6:30pm in Babbage 005, to find out more!
m a c h u pic c h u Want to trek to Machu Picchu and experience the amazing preserved ancient city? On your search for the lost City of Inca, you will hike to set your sights on this breath-taking architectural achievement of the Inca people. Whist raising money for Dementia UK, you will be helping them provide Admiral Nurses who give specialised care and support to patients and families. Information meeting on Thursday 8th October at 6:30pm in Stonehouse Lecture Theatre, Portland Square Building!
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Hiking across the Atlas Mountains is a side of Morocco that tourists rarely see. This hike will take you through valleys and up to the summit of Mount Toubkal, North Africa’s highest peak! This astounding mountain range that runs over half the Mahgreb and is located south of Marrakech. Morocco is a country rich in culture and offers something different for every traveller. Not to mention great local shopping at the Souks! Make-A-Wish offers magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions and you too can be part of making their dreams come true and have fun at the same time! Find out more on Tuesday 13th October at 6:30pm in Babbage 005!
uganda go ri l l a t r e k Hike, climb and canoe your way through forests and jungles, across lakes until you reach the last wild mountain Gorillas in the world. Since these treks have begun not one Sliver-back Gorilla has been shot by poachers. On top of this, the charity you’ll be raising money for, East African Playgrounds, work tirelessly to help the children develop vital social and physical skills for later life through fun and play, and you can help them do it, by spending time building a playground to help the children in the community. Come along to our information meeting on Thursday 15th October at 6:30pm in Babbage 005 to find out more!
“East African Playgrounds have been phenomenal! The experience for me was life changing and I’m already planning to go back to Uganda and carry on charity work. I have fallen in love with the country and its people.” Hannah Sutton – Gorilla Trek Adventure Leader
VO L UN T E E R I N G Do you have a random lecture timetable? Do you want to volunteer, but cannot commit to a regular programme of volunteering? UPSU’s Student Led Volunteering Projects are organised by students for students, with evening/afternoon/day long opportunities available that you can dip in and out of. You could: • Spend the day at The Monkey Sanctuary with The Animal Conservation Project. • Help the Woodland Trust look after a local woodland with The Green Team. • Engage adults with learning difficulties in sport with The Special Olympics Project. • Befriend local elderly individuals through activities and games. • Support The Unicycle Project in helping to pass on unwanted food from University outlets, to local food banks and homeless shelters. To find out more, please visit: upsu.com/volunteering/studentledvolunteering
Relays @ UPSU is a project which offers a range of creative outreach activities focused around sport, culture and education. The project is run by UPSU and provides volunteering and training opportunities for students who would like to work with young people. Relays @ UPSU is always looking for new, aspiration raising, events and activities so please let us know about any ideas you may have.
Get in Touch Jo Reed Relay School Events Co-ordinator Volunteering Office, UPSU (The Hive), Plymouth University, PL4 8AA joanna.reed@su.plymouth.ac.uk /relaysdevonandcornwall @relays@upsu
The numerous benefits of fundraising and volunteering are immediately clear- it’s a great way to make friends, try new things and have masses of fun, but often people don’t fully appreciate the huge impact charity work can have on your future career. The amazing opportunities offered by RAG are the perfect chance to explore your interests, to find out what you enjoy, and learn about how you operate in different environments. It’s a chance to test out emerging skills in a safe place, surrounded by friends. You may even end up doing something that pushes you outside of your comfort zone, and discover something about yourself that you would never have suspected- maybe even a love of spreadsheets! You may even find that your experience leads you down a completely different career path than the one you thought your heart was set on. RAG activities are also a great way to develop skills or to gain the relevant experience for a specific job path. Let’s say you’ve done your research and you know need you need leadership skills for that career in management- what better way to develop them than by trekking through Peru? Or perhaps you don’t know how to demonstrate your commercial awareness, why not organise a fundraising event and learn about financial sponsorship? And to top it off, involvement will help you to grab that graduate job, by giving you employability gold dust to make your CV sparkle, wonderful evidence to demonstrate skills in an application, and an interesting topic to discuss at interview. Your elevator pitch to use at networking events and careers fairs will be interesting, making you infinitely more memorable to employers or recruiters. You may even impress a potential employer while getting involved with a RAG event, and find you have a job waiting for you after graduation. Don’t forget, if you need help with your future, the Careers and Employability service is here to help you.
Welcome to your Careers & Employability Service! Every year we run a huge range of events to help you develop your key employability skills, meet employers and explore the wide variety of career paths open to you. Including… Accelerate
Recruitment Fairs
There are 21 different bite-sized workshops you can come to develop your skills – look at our events calendar to find out what’s on: http://bit.ly/evcal15
Part–Time jobs Fair – Wednesday 7th October Exploring Your Future in Education – 28th October Exploring Your Future in Business – 3rd November Exploring Your Future in STEM – 4th November
Student Jobs We work on your behalf to find part-time work opportunities which fit around your studies. Follow us to keep up to date: f Plymunijobs t @plymunijobs
We offer so much more including: • • • • •
One to one Guidance Appointments Employer talks Placement opportunities Competitions Networking events
CAREERS & EMPLOYABILITY WITH PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY
Drop in to the Careers & Employability Hub in RLB to find out more and pick up your FREE Careers Notebook Or check us out by visiting: f plymuniemp t @plymuniemp < www.plymouth.ac.uk/employability 0 01752 587456
week even ' s r e h s ts fre boat party On Thursday 24th September join us at the Mayflower Steps, for an evening of partying around the Plymouth Sound, on our private boat. Tickets at upsu.com Dress code: Pirate fancy dress
Plymouth RAG's FAM O FRESHERS' WEEK P US LEGENDARY izza E a tin g C o n t e st!!
Teams of 3, £9 per team to enter! So come along to the SU Marquee on the 22nd September and find out whether you are Plymouth University Pizza Eating Champions! For more info go to j.mp/ragpizza
ta k e m e out th RAG's FAMOUS LEG Plymou EN not see if Cupid DARY FRESHERS WE E
Are you single? Looking for love? Why can set you up on a hot date! We can’t send you to Fernando’s, but we can send you to NANDOS! Fancy being a contestant go to j.mp/ragtmo for an application form. Come along on Tuesday 29th September for a Fresher’s event like no other!