News

Students raise record amounts for charity

(8 June 2006)

Student fundraisers at Durham University have presented cheques to more than 200 representatives of charities and community projects as part of a record total of more than £192,000, with further funds still to come in.

The donations were raised by students through the activities of DUCK (Durham University Charities Kommittee) in a mixture of sponsored feats and imaginative collecting all around the country. DUCK Officer Ed Uff said: “We are delighted to be able to offer this amount of money to such a large number of good causes. Our celebration evening is a chance for students and other supporters to learn more about the charities, activities and projects that benefit from the funds we raise. It also gives the representatives from those organisations the opportunity to meet some of the students involved.” At the presentation event at Durham Castle, the Mayor of Durham City John Lightley, thanked the students on behalf of the recipients and praised them for their “fantastic effort”. Vice-Chancellor, Sir Kenneth Calman, who also addressed the students, supporters, and recipients at the presentation event, said: “I am constantly impressed year after year as the students increase the amount raised through DUCK. This reflects the generosity not only of the people here and around the country who make the donations, but also of the students themselves who give a great deal of time – as well as some of their money – to so many good causes. They show huge amounts of resourcefulness, energy and community spirit.” DUCK has cemented its position as one of the top student fundraising bodies in the UK. Some of the money raised goes to major charities with national or international programmes. This year DUCK has been involved in the University’s Project Sri Lanka, which is sending 15 students who raised over £30,000, to the south of the country to adopt a community devastated by the Boxing Day Tsunami. Professor Joy Palmer-Cooper, Director of the Centre for Research on Environmental Awareness and Management and Project Sri Lanka Leader at Durham University, announced that a new school in Sri Lanka will be named the DUCK School, and two boats will be launched: DUCK I and DUCK II. Professor Palmer-Cooper said: “DUCK is a major leading part in the University’s fundraising initiatives for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Sri Lankan community.” A large proportion of the money is also donated in and around the city of Durham and Stockton-on-Tees, where the students live in or near the University’s two campuses. Among the latest donations are: Meningitis Research Foundation - £13,010 Save the Children Fund - £8,542 Cancer Research UK - £ 6,928 Durham Young People’s Centre (End House) - £1,000 St Cuthbert’s Hospice - £1,000 Victim Support County Durham - £400 Many more charities include small local groups such as pensioners’ dining circles, scout and guide groups, illness support groups and playgroups, a number of whom rely on DUCK for their very existence. Brian Ebbatson, Chair of Chester-le-Street Bookstart Scheme, explained: “The funds raised by DUCK for our charity are essential in helping parents introduce babies and toddlers to books, often in a creative way using song, dance and puppets.”