UCLan students raise more than £5,000 for Barnardo’s as part of studies

16 May 2016

Annual fundraising challenge generates biggest amount so far

Creative students from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) have raised more than £5,000 for children’s charity Barnardo’s by organising a variety of exciting events as part of their studies.

The second year event management students organised several fundraising activities for the charity including a Breakout Challenge to travel as far away from the University as possible with no money, a 100km cycle ride, a 20mile hike, a Chinese cultural evening and a masquerade ball. It is the eighth year that UCLan has raised money for Barnardo’s with an overall total of more than £26,000 with this year being a record breaking year.

Lisa Ingham, a 33-year-old student who helped to organise a series of fitness challenges, commented: “The activities were challenging and tested our fitness and stamina, but was also very rewarding. It is a great sense of achievement knowing that the work and time we have put into our event has resulted in raising such an overwhelming amount of money which go towards funding much needed services for children and young people to benefit from in our local area.”

2016 marks the 150th anniversary of Barnardo’s and all of the money the students have raised since 2008 has benefited children and young people in Lancashire.

"The activities were challenging and tested our fitness and stamina, but was also very rewarding"

Jane Harries, Barnardo’s Regional Fundraising Manager (West), visited UCLan to meet the students. She commented: “The hard work, commitment and enthusiasm from the staff and students at UCLan has been amazing and we are staggered by the amount that has been raised. A huge thank you to everyone involved, these funds will make a huge difference to the vulnerable children and families that we support across Lancashire.”

The aim of the annual fundraising challenge is to allow students to plan, deliver and evaluate a safe and sustainable live event. Event management course leader Rod Train commented: “Each year the students never fail to impress me with their innovative ideas to raise money for such an important charity. Not only do they benefit from getting hands-on experience by putting what they’ve learned into practise, but they also help the local community by working so closely with Barnardo’s.”

Students in the early stages of the event management course have also been able to work on their practical skills after first year students raised more than £2,400 for Rock FM’s Cash for Kids charity through other fundraising challenges.