Category: Societies

How to make the most of what’s on offer

 

Claudia SorescuBy Claudia Sorescu

When it comes to ways to get involved with the Students’ Union, I could talk to you for days. I’m really active in societies and clubs (anything from martial arts to volunteering to the Lord of the Rings Society), so I know my way around the Union, and I’ve always been really impressed with how easy it is to become a part of the community here. There’s definitely a feeling of belonging that you get from being here, no matter what you decide to do with your spare time, and I couldn’t love it more.

For example, I think one of the best ways to get involved here is Bummit, the world’s largest student-led hitch-hike. Every year, a thousand students head out to raise money and awareness for a huge number of charities: jus1t one trip last year, from Sheffield to Romania (which is actually where I’m from, so I got to show my more adventurous friends around!), raised more than £85,000 for 9 charities. I’ll admit my inner couch potato was skeptical about the whole hitchhiking thing, until this February, when I got dragged into a smaller version of Bummit called the Rat Race.

 

The concept is the same, but my team-mate Chris’ and my destination was Manchester, and to keep things interesting, we had a long list of challenges to complete along the way, which went anywhere from having to chase a builder down to tak2e a selfie with him…

…to getting a present from Town Hall officials (sadly, our negotiating skills couldn’t get us anything more than a free parking ticket), persuading Chris to get fake nails (he wasn’t impressed), and even running through a fountain- you don’t really want to be com3pletely soaked when hitchhiking, but it worked out. We had a somewhat scary walk through Manchester late at night, stumbled upon a brilliant jazz gig by complete accident, and overall had a fantastic time.

 

It sounds like a silly thing to do, but when you’re there you get to meet some kind and amazing4 people that otherwise you wouldn’t have had the chance to speak to. A person we randomly met for a challenge was directly affected by the charity we were raising money for, Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, which suddenly put everything into perspective for us and made our cause tangible.

Bummit is just one way to get involved here at our Union, but I defi5nitely think it’s the most rewarding one. It was a crazy day, but immensely satisfying, and if anything it taught me to take on more challenges and break out of my routine, which this time turned into a chance to make someone’s life better. As they say, sometimes you really just need to take a leap of faith and see where you end up!

Enactus (Entrepreneurial. Action. Us)

By Georgina Rees

Enactus Sheffield is a student run company based at the University of Sheffield, dedicated to running commercial and social action projects to make a difference to the lives of others both in our community and internationally.
Through both social and commercial projects we aim to harness students’ entrepreneurial spirit, to make a difference in our local community and to communities abroad. Commercial projects enable students to run real, profitable businesses, allowing them to use their creativity and business acumen to raise money for our social portfolio. Through social projects and working with vulnerable people Enactus aims to positively impact their lives through the power of social enterprise, students work proactively and are rewarded by witnessing the changes in their lives first hand!
Every year, we present a handful of our projects at the Enactus National Competition. This is a great event which allows students to showcase what they have achieved in the year and provides exposure to their projects to allow them to expand and continue their work. In 2013, Enactus Sheffield won the National Competition. It’s a great opportunity to not only to have an impact on the world whilst at university.

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Here at Sheffield, there are commercial projects which include The Intern, Marketing Mission, Football Frenzy, Campus Clothing and Event Planning. The Intern is a unique competition designed to test and develop a variety of entrepreneurial skills for students, based on the TV show The Apprentice. The Marketing Mission group aims to bridge the gap between Sheffield students and the Sheffield sports teams. Football Frenzy is a student run football league which runs on a Sunday to raise money for social projects. Campus Clothing is a student run business that supplies personalised clothing to societies and organisations. Event Planning gives aspiring event planners the opportunity to run events to raise funds for Enactus.

Some of the social projects are: HOPE Local, HOPE Nigeria, Homemade and Blankets for Bolivia. Hope Local aims to empower vulnerable women who have previously been sexually or domestically abused, or trafficked, through Enterprise. Hope Nigeria offers pastoral care and personal development for all women, including educational qualifications, business management courses, counselling and legal assistance. Enactus Sheffield created the ‘Homemade’ project, working with homeless men to help them gain financial stability and become self-sufficient again. Blankets for Bolivia run a social enterprise making emergency blankets from recycled crisp packets.
I would highly recommend getting involved with Enactus, not only is it a great thing to do but it will also look fantastic on your CV!