myself. It also improved my

communication skills and

telephone manner. I would

definitely do it again if the

opportunity came up.' Flora

Ragless-Green, UWE Stu-

dent.

We had a fantastically success-

ful telephone campaign—our

first one where 1500 alumni

were contacted and raised an

impressive £76,000 in dona-

tions and pledges! Thank

you! The telethon not only

raised funds for the University

but also helped develop the

relationship between alumni

and the institution and built

relationships between alumni

and callers. The alumni of-

fered careers advice, intern-

ships and placements, helping

students develop their employ-

ability skills. The telethon

raised money for our Better

Together Fund, which includes

hardship bursaries, student

experience, students volun-

teering in the community and

social enterprise .

Our students had a great ex-

perience working on the

phones : 'I really enjoyed

the telephone campaign, I

found it really interesting

speaking to alumni, learning

about what they studied,

their time at UWE and what

they're up to now. It was a

great opportunity to net-

work to as I came away with

many contacts and suggest-

ed places to apply for work-

Telephone campaign success

Student hardship bursaries Since our last donor

newsletter we have been

able to help 12 students

with hardship bursaries,

for students facing finan-

cial difficulties. Your do-

nations are helping these

students realise their po-

tential. Jack Gibson, a

disabled student, in his

final year studying for a

BSc (Hons) in Information

Technology Management

for Business, received a

bursary which enabled

him to gain valuable in-

dustry experience whilst

studying and putting

learnings into practice.

"UWE's Better Together

Fund supported me with a

mentoring scheme which

connects disabled students

with local business leaders

on a one to one basis. Re-

ceiving a bursary from the

scheme enabled me to ac-

cess my mentor and his

place of work at South

Gloucestershire Council by

covering telephone and trav-

el costs. This scheme has

supported me in accessing a

unique opportunity to net-

work with a senior local

businessman connected to

my field of study. University

provides a great education,

but it is only when you inter-

act with people in the real world

that you can really bring out the

full potential in you."

Donor Newsletter 2014

Thank you!

Thank you so

much for support-ing us! Your dona-

tions have meant

we are changing

lives, of students

and local and glob-

al communities.

This year, we have

a record amount

of new donors and

thousands of

pounds raised for

hardship bursaries!

Page 1

We award grants to

extra curricular activi-

ties which help our

students shine.

UWE Gilding Club

received a grant to

help more students

experience gliding at

an affordable price.

We also gave a grant

to UWE Women’s

Rowing Squad to

support a rowing

training camp which

enabled more students

to attend the camp. The

women’s squad then

went on to compete

competitively for the

season, gaining Gold and

Bronze medals at British

Universities and College

Sport (BUCS) regatta and

then racing both at

Women's Henley and at

Royal Henley.

tions in British Sign Language.

nineteen UWE students are

studying for the qualification.

Cameron Parker used his

grant to give motivational

speeches to schools and col-

leges. His speeches have

helped children and young

people believe in themselves

and realise their potential.

UnLtd awarded £15,000 in

grants to UWE students as

part of a national programme

to support social entrepre-

neurs in Higher Education.

One of the award winners,

Christopher Lewis, received a

grant to start up a sign

language centre, I Can Sign

(ICS). The centre offers na-

tionally recognized qualifica-

Student Experience

Social Enterprise

Students Volunteering in the Community

take part in creative activities.

The project was run in conjunc-

tion with the Miilestones Trust,

a charity that supports people

with learning disabilities and

mental health needs. Six stu-

dent leaders and six—eight

student volunteers took part in

the project. Activities included

tie dye activities and making a

Creative Club “Tree”. The stu-

dents are using their experienc-

es for a professional practice

module and also for practicing

their problem solving skills.

Each year we support Stu-

dents Volunteering in the

Community projects, which

are initiatives where students

make an impact in the com-

munity, whilst at the same

time enhancing their team-

work, communication and

project management skills.

Learning Disabilities Ac-

tivities Group, also called

the Creative Club, received a

grant to help run sessions

encouraging 14 participants

with learning disabilities to

Page 2

Donor Newsletter 2014

UWE Gliding Club

Tie dye activities

Women’s Rowing Squad

Christopher Lewis

Cameron Parker

Santander Universities

have very generously support-

ed UWE with £40,000 per

year, for a three year period

with an additional £15,000 for

internships, which will focus

on international exchange,

entrepreneurial activities,

mobility of students and re-

searchers within universities

that already partner with San-

tander. The funding will ena-

ble current students in re-

ceipt of a bursary to progress

to postgraduate study as well

as offering travel bursaries

for Phd students to visit

overseas universities, which

are part of the Santander

Universities Network.

We have already filled all 10

internships and have carried

out a dragon’s den type event

where students pitched their

enterprise ideas, with the

winners each receiving a finan-

cial award. We are also run-

ning some other enterprise

competitions at the mo-

ment— for anyone with an

idea for a magazine or publica-

tion, or ideas for products or

services that improve patient

healthcare. We’re currently

shortlisting applications for

the Santander Postgraduate

Scholarships for undergradu-

ates who were receiving a

bursary—we have four to give

out this year, with nineteen

applications already! Applica-

tions for international scholar-

ships are open so we hope to

award those soon.

This year the Needham Cooper

Charitable Trust have kindly

supported two students, Jose-

phine Fryman and Philippa Lov-

ell, both second year Physio-

therapy students, with the costs

of their course, each receiving a

bursary of £2,500 this year and

next. The trust will continue to

support two second year stu-

dents each year until their very

generous donation of £220,000

is used up, meaning 44 UWE

Physiotherapy students will be

supported in the next 22 years.

Trust and foundation support

Needham Cooper Charitable Trust

Bristol Commonwealth Society

crime and corruption in her home

country of Nigeria. Hellen, a sec-

ond year Journalism and and Public

Relations student, received a grant

to help her travel to her assign-

ments necessary for her course.

She wants to use the knowledge

that she gains during her degree to

help boost Kenya’s economy.

The Bristol Commonwealth Society

bursary helps students from Common-

wealth countries with the costs of their

studies. Deborah Dane Osim-Asu and

Hellen Seru, both received grants to help

them with the costs of their course .

Deborah, studying an LLB in Law and in

her first year, received a bursary which

helped her to afford transport and food

whilst studying. Deborah wants to use

her Law degree to work on areas of

Page 3

Vice Chancellor Steve West with Luis Juste, Director, Santander Universities at the Partnership agreement signing in November 2013

Santander Universities

“I was so thrilled to receive the bursary and it really has made a huge dif-

ference already. Thanks to the generous bursary, I didn't need to work over

the Christmas holidays which meant that I was really able to focus on my

revision and an assignment that was due in December”

Josephine Fryman, Needham Cooper bursary recipient

“My bursary has helped me to travel to

places to carry out my assignments

which I would not have been able to if I

hadn't been awarded this bursary”

Hellen Seru, Bristol Commonwealth

Society bursary recipient

Since the appeal opened in

December 2012, a fantastic

£2,261.55 has been raised!

This is from donations

from alumni, friends and

staff, at concerts and CPA

events. Thank you for your

generosity! The money has

helped four students to

work with local young peo-

ple. Lucas Greiwe, Tom

Sanger-Borthwick, Daniel

Wackett and James White,

who are all part of the

Princes Trust XL project,

are working with pupils

from Oasis Academy

Brightstowe and Brisling-

ton Enterprise College to

learn more about music,

which is fantastic. Your

donations are also helping

CPA Music Scholars with

the cost of instruments,

music, rehearsal and con-

cert space.

Working with charity Temwa, the Degree Tree project raises money

to plant thousands of trees in Malawi, saving paper and benefiting

communities by providing cultural education. In 2013, Temwa plant-

ed over 150,000 trees with a survival rate of over 82%. As well as

growing seedlings, Temwa is also teaching communities how to raise

trees from the seed, minimizing dependence on Temwa, thereby

improving sustainability. Over 240,500 polythene tubes and tree

seeds have been distributed this year. Your donations are having an

immediate effect on combating deforestation and regenerating

woodland areas in Northern Malawi, thank you!

Music Appeal—waiting for more feedback

Degree Tree

Page 4

Donor Newsletter 2014

Tree nursery , Malawi

UWE Staff Giving scheme

UWE Staff have been donating to a scheme called Small Change

Big Difference, which has raised a fantastic £2,700 so far! The

scheme rounds up pennies from monthly pay and goes towards

hardship bursaries. We have helped four students so far—thank

you! If we sign up every member of staff at UWE we can help be-

tween 26 and 40 students a year. We also raise money with the

payroll giving scheme. If your company or organisation would be

interested in donating to UWE via payroll giving, please get in

touch with the Development Office using the contact details at

the back of this newsletter.

“My bursary will make a huge difference and

will enable me to continue, worry free, with the

final part of my PhD Thank you so much—I

didn't have access to other funds to support

myself and this money has enabled me focus

and complete my PhD” —Gillian Cope, PhD

student and recipient of funds raised by the

Small Change Big Difference scheme

We have started a new fund,

called St Matthias Bursaries

for students facing financial

difficulties who are studying

Drama, English, Film, History,

Media and Cultural Studies,

Philosophy and Teaching. We

want to ensure the legacy of

St Matthias (St Matts) lives

on for future generations.

The fund has raised a fantas-

tic £1,375 already! We want to

raise £5,000 this year so that we

can help five students. We also had

a great time meeting St Matthias

alumni at the reunion on 10 May.

Our students will be shaking buck-

ets to raise some more money for

the bursaries during the St Matts

farewell party taking place on 30

May—1 June.

panels on the school roof.

These have been generat-

ing electricity for approx-

imately three months,

saving the school valuable

money which they are

now able to spend on

other important aspects

of the pupils’ education.

Thank you so much for

your generous donations!

In May and June 2013 the

Sithobelumthetho Primary

School, from the township

of Madadeni, South Africa,

toured the UK performing

their vibrant Zulu songs

and dances. Thanks to gen-

erous donations from sup-

porters they were able to

raise £20,000 which has

now been used to pur-

chase and install 53 solar

St Matthias Bursaries

Urine-tricity

Page 5

St Matthias campus

Solar panels at Sithobelumthetho Primary School

Project Zulu

Donations to our Robotics research have helped us to buy

pH meters and probes which will help us further investigate

the variables in the research of urine in the production of

electricity and the purification of water in the developing

world . The urine produces electricity through microbial fuel

cells, which also purifies water by killing disease –causing

pathogens in the waste—resulting in much safer sanitation

for the developing world. Your gift is making a difference to

global communities—thank you!

“I came to education

late in life , getting a degree transformed my circumstances. I donate because I

want to help others transform their circumstances”

UWE Business Studies graduate, 1996

Why I give

Thank you!

All of these projects were made possible thanks to your gener-

osity. Your donations mean we are continuing to change lives;

giving students the opportunity to realise their potential, re-

gardless of background or circumstance, helping students de-

velop skills and opportunities that last a lifetime with student

experience projects, transforming lives through student volunteering, conducting life

changing research and making an impact in local, global and national communities. I

do hope that you will continue to be able to support us. Please visit

www.uwe.ac.uk/supporters or contact the Development Office on develop-

ment@uwe.ac.uk, telephone: 0117 328 6578 if you would be interested in hearing

more about any of the projects featured in this newsletter or on our webpages.

“It is heartbreaking to hear of those students who are desperate to further their education and not

have the finances to do so. I was one of the lucky ones, who received a grant as a mature student in the

1980s and graduated with Honours from Bristol Poly and enjoyed my teaching career in a very deprived

area. My four children received grants also and are having very worthwhile careers as well. That’s why I

donated to student hardship,” Una Macmahon, B. Ed (Hons) First Class, 1988

“As a first generation university student myself and as a member of staff who hears about student

difficulties every day, I can really appreciate why it is so important to support the UWE with a donation “

UWE member of staff