Our March Student Group of the Month was Galencials (Medics)!

They wrote a campaign in support of LGBT+ rights and had nearly 600 members sign a letter to the Medical School. In this campaign, they raised awareness of the harms of ‘conversion therapy’, showed their support for the LGBT+ community and began conversations with the Medical School on formally signing GLADD’s charter committing to supporting the banning of ‘conversion therapy’.

Our February Student Group of the Month was University of Bristol Church Choir!

The group has worked incredibly hard recently and were particularly praised their commitment to fundraising and community outreach work. The group has recently:

• Led community carol singing with Oakfield Residents’ Association
• Collaborated with Bedminster BID and St Pauls Church
• Been trained in how to lead ‘Singing for the Brain’ sessions by the Alzheimers’ Society
• Raised money for the Human Dignity Trust and Aid Box Community
• Organised a student Christmas Carol Concert

Our Decmeber Student Group of the Month was University of Bristol Islamic Society!

The group had a very successful month and the panel particularly praised their commitment to charity fundraising. Along with a busy roster of regular events and socials, they:

•    Raised £8,600 through during their recent Charity Week that included bake sales on campus, sports events, games nights, sponsored runs and cycles and documentary screenings 
•    Held a large auction dinner for 120 people, partnering with local businesses and peers from UWEIsoc
•    Ran multiple events for Islamophobia Awareness Month
•    Took part in an interfaith dinner

Our November Student Group of the Month was University of Bristol CivSoc!

The group had an incredible start to the year and provided an exceptional membership experience to new and returning students. They:

• Ran a successful graduate and undergraduate recruitment evening with 110 people in attendance
• Expanded their CivSoc Buddies scheme to include all year groups
• Held a busy families ‘World Food Day’ event
• Started running coffee mornings as an informal, alcohol-free option for members
• Ran tours of the Engineering Department for freshers
• Reinstated Engineering Netball teams into Intramural
• Added International and Postgrad networks to their offer
• Changed their family names to better represent their members and be more diverse
• Ran ‘Red Bull Basement’ in collaboration with other engineering groups where attendees pitched a product to aid in the sustainability of different sectors

The panel felt the committee worked very hard all year, but particularly this month where they:

• Raised £1500 for an adaptive single scull, to be able to offer disability rowing to students and wider community
• Recruited a whopping 60 novices on their Learn to Row scheme
• Organised friendly fixtures with local teams

The panel felt the committee worked very hard this month to bring the following to their membership:

• Hosting a successful and inclusive International Conference
• Sourcing high-profile speakers for a debate on dark matter
• Collaborating with 5 other physics societies in the SW
• Implementing member feedback
• Raised £400 for charity
• Rolled out brand new fleeces to the group!

The East African Society (EASOC) continued to cultivate its connection with the other EASOCs across the UK and America formed in TB1. They took part in organising and hosting a virtual valentine social.

The panel felt this was a great collaboration event, pulling in 10 other East African Societies and attracting over 70 attendees!

The group had an amazing run-up to Christmas, showcasing performances from their members every day in their BUMS Advent Calendar.

The panel felt this went above and beyond to bring some festive cheer to their members and recognised the hard work involved to bring the series together.

The panel felt the group had a great month and that their Wellbeing Week was well thought-out, timely and of huge benefit to their membership. In a month when engaging with members was tricky for some, they pro-actively reached out, offering opportunities for engagement and wellbeing support.

The panel wanted to recognise the amazing efforts that Salsa Society have put into organising collaborations with other Salsa groups across the country.

Here is what society treasurer Charlotte Oatley had to say about what they had been up to:

"Over the summer we collaborated with different University of Bristol dance societies and organised an online danceathon fundraising event. We hosted lots of different dance classes for people to try, and ended up raising over £830 for NHS Charities Together and Bristol Black Carers!

Now, we are collaborating with Salsa Societies from 13 different universities across the UK. A different university hosts the weekly Salsa and Bachata lessons online, which have been very successful and enjoyed by all our members. It has connected Salsa lovers from across the country, and helped our members, who might be shielding/self-isolating or not able to be in Bristol, feel part of the university community.

We have also adapted our face to face classes and created ‘Bamboochata’. So that our members can still dance Bachata with partners, by holding either end of bamboo sticks and dancing together. It is a great way to safely partner dance, and has been loved by our members, who have missed dancing with partners."

The panel felt that the club had gone above and beyond in preparing to welcome new players for the 2020 season, and wanted to recognise the amazing efforts that had been put in over the summer lockdown period with fundraising and raising awareness of men’s mental health needs.

Here is Club Captain Kincaid Ingram's low-down on what the club has been up to over the past 6 months:

"Over the lockdown period, the club has done numerous activities to engage members and prepare ourselves for the upcoming season! Firstly, some of our members (37) organised and ran a charity event (#Bristol2Bermuda) in May 2020. Running a total of 6530km and raising £5,010 (smashing both our set targets for dist. & money raised!) for #Run4Roshni to ensure food security for iPartner India: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bristol2bermuda

The committee, especially Welfare Sec, have also recognised the increased importance of mental health (MH) and our members over the lockdown period. Therefore, in order to upskill ourselves over the past few months, 6 of our committee and head coach completed an online MH awareness course. The course focused on recognising and helping members, as well as breaking down barriers stopping potential members from getting involved, to increase our inclusivity."

The Student Group of the Month for April was Khaleeji Society!

The panel really liked the way this new student group seemed to be off to a cracking start, sharing their heritage in a successful event. They felt this was a very well organised and wholesome event and look forward to seeing more from this group in the future.

Congratulations ACS! Not only did they run their massively successful Take Me Out event in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, which lead to six successful matches, but they raised money to support scholarships and sanitary products for school children in Zimbabwe. 

The panel was impressed by the success of both the actual event and the ways in which it was used to raise money for charity. It was in keeping with the goal ACS set themselves this year of "Making an Impact, Leaving a Legacy" and to give back to African and Caribbean communities both in Bristol and globally.

Bristol SU Student Group of the Month for February was American Football! Their application showed that they had been not only winning matches (even if they let us worry until the last moment against Bournemouth), but remained unbeaten in their division this season and were looking at promotion. 

The panel also really liked that the club currently has its highest ever number of international members and actively worked on being an open and welcoming space.

The winner of the December 2019 Bristol SU Student Group of the Month Award was Lifesaving Club! Awarded for their work on hosting a recent BULSCA competition. 

The panel felt this was a strong application and recognised the hard work it takes to put on a competition of this scale. They were impressed with the clubs results at the competition (winning it) and really liked how it was documented via Instagram Takeover.

We're proud to announce our Student Group for November was CoppaFeel! - The Bristol Uni Boob Team

They've seen a clear need in the student body and set out to meet it, by creating a regular 'Cancer Coffee Morning' to support students affected by cancer, and the panel agreed they've done a fantastic job.

“Losing someone to cancer is incredibly difficult, especially while being at university and trying to continue your studies. The Cancer Coffee Mornings aim to create a student-led support network that can help students through these tricky times.

Grief and illnesses are something that are shied away from and we need to act upon this, talk about it in the open and change it so when something awful happens, students can feel more supported”

The mornings take place fortnightly every Tuesday, 10-12 in the Bristol SU Living Room. They are open to students who have been directly affected or bereaved by cancer; students who have a friend, housemate, or course mate directly or indirectly affected by cancer; students who are interested in helping support others.

More information can be found on their Facebook page