As you might know, dates-n-mates Aberdeen has linked with Robert Gordon University (RGU) for the last 3 years to organise fundraising events for the project.
We have now been officially recognised as an Industry Partner for the University’s School of Creative and Cultural Business. We have received a certificate and the above logo to confirm this partnership along with being invited to events within the University.
The Event Management course at RGU runs a ‘Main event’ module for their final year students where they are asked to organise a fundraising event for a local charity. They are split in to groups and partnered with a charity representative who mentors the students through the project. It is an opportunity for the students to put all the skills they have learned in their course to practical use. It is also an opportunity for the charities to raise vital funds and awareness along with gaining new contacts.
As dates-n-mates Aberdeen are a small team and we don’t have a fundraising department like many other charities do, the support from the students over the years has been very valuable. The extra funds allow us to continue providing new experiences for our members which help them to build meaningful friendships and relationships.
The first 2 groups together raised over £3000 and our 3rd group has big plans to increase this. This year’s group are organising a battle of the bands event with a friendship theme in March 2020. The event will include live music, a friendship quote wall, photobooth, charity awareness talks and more. The 2019-2020 student group are already linking with other external contacts in their fundraising such as securing a fantastic prize from Experience Days UK.
More information will be announced soon on their Facebook Page – Encore Events.
Our Project Coordinator, Louise is also a graduate of the Event Management course at RGU and took part in the Main Event module during her studies too. She now represents dates-n-mates as the mentor for the groups.
“Taking part in the Main Event project as a student has been valuable for my career in charity events. I now love being able to come back as the professional and mentor existing students. I believe that charities working alongside students is a fantastic idea as it gets young people involved in supporting charities. It also allows the charity to reach a new audience and raise funds.”
Our members enjoy being a part of the projects too by attending the fundraising events and also taking to the stage to lead talks about what we do. It provides an opportunity for our members to connect with other people they perhaps typically wouldn’t otherwise meet. The events and partnership allows students and other members of the public to get to know our members and see adults with learning disabilities in a much more inclusive way.
We would like to thank RGU for allowing us to be a part of this and all the students that we have worked with so far.
You can read more about this in our Press & Journal article or read about the first student-led fundraising event here.
If you would be interested in organising a fundraising activity for dates-n-mates, please get in touch on 01224 974730 or dnmaberdeen@c-change.org.uk
