Everyone who has one of those free University calendars will know that week six of this semester is RAG week, but does anyone actually know what RAG week is? This is a question worth pondering, as a lot of students are aware that RAG week exists but don’t know what its about. RAG is an acronym for raising and giving and it is the part of the union that raises money for the selected charities of that year.
RAG has a long history within the union, it has been established for over 50 years, it was one of the unions first sub-committee’s and to this day is the only fund-raising group in the union. RAG is a group that most unions across the country have. Hull RAG has won several awards including most productive standing committee in 2006, and best small RAG two years running. Although there is only one RAG week every year the RAG team fundraise all year round. Past events have included, a musicals night at Asylum, RAG in drag, an old school sports day and a twelve-hour car touch.
The fact that RAG is the only fund-raising group in the union at first seems somewhat surprising but given that the union is ridiculously under-funded it somehow makes sense that there aren’t more fund-raising groups. Most societies and groups in the union struggle to stay afloat, finding it hard to fund themselves, never mind finding the money to give to charity. Even so, it appears odd that the union doesn’t give more backing to its only charitable group. Kate Halstead, this years RAG chair has an office in the union, but unless you knew where it was it would be hard to find as its tucked away in the back of the volunteering hub. Admittedly RAG has been not hugely successful in the past few years and I think the problem may lie in the lack of awareness and self-promotion. RAG is something that you know is happening but are not sure of when and where, it also seems like something you wouldn’t necessarily get involved in unless you were introduced to it by a friend. This is not to say that RAG is an exclusive club, anyone and everyone is invited, the more the merrier as they say. I believe that RAG would benefit hugely from more advertising, there’s no point in standing under the big screen in town for hours on end shaking a bucket if no one knows you will be there.
With the financial state of the whole country in tatters, the recession is hitting everyone, making it particularly hard for charities to obtain the funding they so desperately need. This could spur some people to give more to charity, but with everyone feeling the pinch unfortunately it’s the charities that suffer the most. It’s the hard fact of life that it is those who are poorest are affected the worst, so its more important than ever that RAG strive to do all they can to help those they can. However it’s no secret that us students are renowned for being poor. Most students live in their overdraft so how can we be expected to give away money that is not essentially ours? Some would argue that no matter how severe our lack of money is there are a great deal more people who are far worse off than us poor students, who would probably spend the money on beer anyway.
RAG don’t only what your money though, what the need is volunteers to help them raise the money. Volunteering is something that stands out on a CV, with so many people gaining degrees these days sometimes it is simply not enough to get you that dream job, prospective employers are looking for more than qualifications and volunteering appears to tick the box. RAG are always looking for new people to help out and you can be as committed as you want to be, whether you put in two hours a week or twelve, it makes all the difference. Spending an hour a week organising an event or shaking a bucket is probably something we could all do, considering the amount of hours that are spent on facebook when a deadline is approaching. Similarly if you take a trip to the volunteering hub in the union you can sign up to be part of the V-Awards which is a scheme where you write down all the volunteering hours you do over the period of a year and at the end you get a certificate which is a official recognition of however many hours you have volunteered, which is something that employers formally identify with. So not only are you helping others but yourself at the same time.
Hull RAG have many things planned for this year in order to raise money for their selected charities which this year are; Action for Children which is a last whish charity for terminally ill children, RNLI and a wildlife charity that has yet to be named. They will also be raising money for red nose day. As always they will be the RAG parade down Newland Ave, other things they have in store are a midnight treasure hunt, games in the union and at the lawns, there will also be a pub crawl towards the end of the year. RAG’s main event this year is Jail Break, this is where people get sponsored to get as far away from hull as possible without spending any money, people can sponsor by the mile or a fixed amount. This is certainly an interesting fundraiser as I have no doubt that someone will end up in the middle of Europe after managing to blag their way onto a ferry. Anyone willing to go on this crazy adventure, all in the aid of a good cause should visit the volunteering hub in the union.
Hull RAG works hard to raise money for charity and although it hasn’t been overly successful in the past few years they remain hopeful to raise a lot of money despite the recession. If RAG can get the word out about who they are and what they do then hopefully more people will start donating their time and money to a good cause.
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