Year Review
Well hello there! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! It’s Mikail with another blog — and this week we will be looking back and celebrating this year’s amazing achievements here at the Hub.
To start off with, it must be said that this year’s application numbers were completely out of this world! All of our projects received applications which exceeded both expectations and capacity — especially our Social Innovation Programme and Empower Programme — and hence we’re delighted to know that so many of our students are so passionate about social action. All our projects have launched and are running splendidly well, and our staff team have expressed how proactive and hands-on our volunteers have been! A massive thumbs up from everyone here at the Office!
So what’s been going on these past weeks? Well, as aforementioned in my previous blog, Greyhound walking was a massive hit with our volunteers, and everyone had a brilliant time! The Wimbledon Shelter were very grateful for our help, and I’m sure the greyhounds were too! We also had a card-making event this week: a project designed to tackle social isolation where volunteers made cards for elderly people dealing with a range of critical issues such as Dementia and Alzheimers. It’s an event which epitomises the concept giving back to your community, and we can’t wait for the next one-off event! Photos from all these can be found on our Instagram page, which of course everyone has followed (How silly of me to even ask!).
Whilst we’re all freezing and talking about how cold it is, our President Faustina Edward is basking in the beautiful sunshine of St.Lucia! (Totally not jealous!) She’s there to deliver books to students at her old primary school in Anse-la-Raye as part of her Unicorn Project; Book Drive. That’s right: the Hub is now international! It’s such a simple yet powerful project which we’re very proud to be supporting, here at the Hub! I’ll also take this opportunity to take my hat off to Faustina for what has been a brilliant first term as President; leading with aplomb and leading from the front! It has been a real pleasure deputising for her, but with her at the helm, there’s often very little left to do! A massive shout-out also to our committee members who have done a marvelous job thus far, as well as our project managers Harry, Anita, Clara and Sonia who work tirelessly in the background to keep everything running as smooth as possible. Smashing job everyone!
So what’s coming up in 2019? Our superb projects will be continuing, but keep any eye out for our one-off events and our 2nd cycle of the Social Innovation Programme! In addition to this, in February the university will be holding a Student Volunteering Week where students will be able to participate in volunteering events in different-themed days — be that animal welfare, mental health or social isolation. I’m proud to announce that I will be organising this with Clara, our epic Programmes Manager! If you love volunteering, this will knock your socks off!
Around this time of year, it’s important to appreciate that there are many in our community who do not enjoy the bare necessities which we take for granted.
And let’s not forget t’is the season of giving, so do your best go out of your way to help out your community in some way or another. Remember, no act is too small! Perhaps even put volunteering at the Hub as a New Year’s resolution (that last one is a must!).
Have a fantastic Christmas and enjoy your well-earned break!
Mikail Javaid
Vice-President of the Kingston Hub
