Most of us are familiar with RAG week – or Raising And Giving week – when university students host all manner of events to raise money for charities and other good causes. We’ve scoured the country to come up with the funniest and most effective ways to raise money in the hope that they’ll inspire you collect cash for the causes close to your heart.
1. Jailbreak
The rules are simple. Competitors get 36 hours to get as far away from their university as they can – without spending any money. Students usually work in teams of two and get sponsorship from friends, family and local businesses. (Incidentally, two students from Durham once made it to Australia with four minutes to spare. The story goes that they guessed Richard Branson’s address and convinced him to give them two free flights!).
2. School Sports Day
Everyone has to dress as they did in Junior school and compete in old-fashioned events like the sack race, egg and spoon race and three-legged race. Add in a few peculiar variations (like the 100 metre dash where you have to stop every 25 metres to put on an item of clothing) and you’ve got a winning formula – even if you lose every event. Get local businesses to sponsor teams, have each competitor pay a small entrance fee and have teams pay a charity forfeit if they don’t come first.
3. Karaoke
Talk a local pub into hosting a Karaoke night. You charge an entrance fee which goes to charity, they provide the equipment and they attract a range of students who are looking for a fun social and their time to shine on the big stage. And everyone gets a good laugh.
4. A £1.00 a day
So, could you live on £1.00 a day? Chances are you don’t know whether you could or not, but you can bet you know plenty of people who’d like to see you try. Get them to sponsor you by the hour or the day and see how far you get!
5. Charity Carnival
Get together a group of outgoing, fun-loving students and have them set up a few end-of-pier attractions where people pay to have their fortune told – crystal ball or Tarot, why not do both? – or their palm read. It’s a perfect opportunity to prime the fortune tellers so they can say something like: “I see a generous gesture in your future…”
6. Sleep outdoors
Organise a night spent sleeping outside to raise money for the homeless. Reach out to sponsors for each person per hour to see who can raise the most money by staying out all night. Remember to take a warm sleeping bag, hot drinks and wear lots of layers to keep your temperature up.
7. Use the Internet
There are plenty of great sites like Just Giving that make it really easy for people to donate money to good causes in support of your RAG week. Make sure you use these to good effect – and remember to get in touch with family, friends and relatives from back home so they can contribute as well. Set up a Facebook page to support your RAG week and use it promote the different activities throughout the seven day period.
At Enterprise, it is important to us to give back to the local communities in which we operate, so why not apply for a graduate job or internship with us today and continue to raise money for some great causes.
