Present: EP (Outreach Chair), EM (VP), SA (Events), KU (Publicity Rep), HT, AC, AB, IN (Project Coordinator), TR (DUCK Rep), DV
Absent:
Apologies: AK (President)
Setting: The Conference Room – particuarly dark because one of the bulbs has gone again and the clocks just went back
Agenda:
• Introduce everyone
• Shoeboxes
• Ideas for how we do it
• Events
• Silent disco where you pay with food
• Welfare event
• Awareness campaigns? World Earth day etc. Use the Facebook more, like Grey ethics and environment page
• After formal events
• Dining in the dark?
• Long term plan suggestions: pancake race
Introduce everyone – [everyone goes around and says their name]
EP explains that we are going to have a SCA rep soon but SCA appoints them and they are being super slow about it. She also explains that TR is the DUCK rep for college
KU is Publicity
IN is Project Coordinator
SA is Events
But everyone can get involved with everything
Shoeboxes
EP wants to do a shoebox campaign but a local one for homeless population in Durham
There was originally an organisation she wanted to do this with, but we are now not able to as the woman who runs it is no longer doing it this year. So we will do it by ourselves
This is going to have to start pretty soon because it has to be done before term ends
Do we want to have people bring completed boxes or do we want to bring bits and bobs?
People think that bits and bobs would be easier because a whole box is a lot of commitment
Aiming to give them out on the Wednesday 12th December so we would be making them on the 8th which is the weekend before. What we need to do then is compile all the boxes, and then wrap them up in wrapping paper
KU notes that a lot of people’s essays will do due that week
EP is worried because she’d like to do it as close to Christmas as possible
Lots of the freshers don’t have deadlines then so we agreed on those dates
Now we need a plan of how to make them?
Because we are giving them to people directly we don’t need to be specific – don’t have to follow the guidelines that national shoe box campaigns have
Ideas: no nuts/ common allergies, socks, warm things, blankets, foods
IN suggests we have a list of suggested items based on who the boxes might be targeted at
EP thinks this is good but there isn’t much of a variety in the demographics – we don’t see many homeless kids around Durham
Publicity wise we need a facebook event
ACTION POINT: KU is going to do this and make funky cover photos
KU asks if we want all the boxes to be the same? Not really, as long as we make some rough guidelines
ACTION POINT: IN is going to make a suggested items list and send it to EP
Everyone else is going to invite people so we can make it a nice festive day in college because that would be fun
KU suggests that we have a system where people can drop things off at different places- they don’t have to come to Cuth’s. We could have Science, Parsons, the Viaduct
Events
EP proposes a Silent disco where you pay with food
Then the food would go to a food bank
People like this idea
ACTION POINT: SA to talk to JG (Facilities) about when tech is free
ACTION POINT: EP is going to talk to AK about booking the hall
EM asks who is going to DJ – because often people are really keen to DJ and that might be a way of attracting more people
SA suggests auditions for being the silent disco DJs but EP notes that that didn’t really work when MM (Social Chair) tried to do it for Freshers’ week
Welfare event
EP says welfare have messaged to say they want to run an event with us which would be cool
They were thinking on the 20th of November to do a pub quiz together
Some people seem keen
They want to do a thing with Movember
They want little games/ stalls
Pin the moustache on the man?
DV suggests a moustache competition. Lots of sports teams really get on board with this
Who will write the pub quiz? No one wants to
Welfare suggested face paint
DV points out that this is the same day as College swaps which could be an issue
Do we think this will really effect turnout?
EP thinks it will be okay and she can ask the people in charge not to put Cuth’s people on this day
Awareness campaigns? World Earth day etc. Use the Facebook more, like Grey ethics and environment page
EP notes that Grey have a really good page and share loads of good issues. It’s their Environment and Ethics page
KU notes that we could spotlight people in the community, like we did with introducing outreach committee last year
SA notes that the Cuth’s Welfare instagram is more popular than any of the facebook pages – they post three times a day but we don’t need to be that keen
KU notes that we could all be assigned a day to post something on
ACTION POINT: EP is going to set up an insta and give people the password
After formal events
The charity is going to be the 21st of November
We need to pick a charity for this but this is going to be the dining in the dark formal – so probably just use the charity we always use
EM is confused by this because the Charity and the dining in the dark formal have always been different events? What’s the point in picking a charity and having a guest speaker if everyone is going to be distracted by the novelty of being blindfolded. Is there a reason this has changed? Is this because of the JCR taking a bigger role in formals? We should talk to the formals manager
ACTION POINT: Talking to JO (Formals Manager) about having another charity formal
Now that the JCR has more say in formals, we might want to organise ents like the Halloween formal – for example we did the doughnut game on a string last night
KU suggests we do the doughnut game
EM suggests animal sound game where people are secretly allocated an animal and they have to find people who have the same one but only through making the noises
Long term plan suggestions: Pancake Race
EP wants a pancake race down the Bailey because it’s a tradition from her village
DV says Pancake day will be the 5th of March and it’s something to do with Ash Wednesday
What if we did it on the afternoon on the 3rd of March
EP wonders if we could get a temporary road closure, but if not we could do it on Palace Green
Everyone her village do it in fancy dress then everyone eats pancakes afterwards
ACTION POINT: EP investigates
SA, Whinney Hill is another option but in March that can be weather dependant
HT asks if the hall is too small, EP says yes
How they do it in EP’s village is that there is a team of people who make lots of pancakes and then they just reheat them
EM asks what the charity element in all of this is?
EP clarifies that you pay money to take part in this, we can also have collection buckets
EP opens discussion to the floor and asks for ideas
SA would like to work with an old people’s home and get choir involved or big band and have afternoon tea.
EP suggest we make this a Christmas thing
ACTION POINT: SA is going to look into setting up links with a local home
KU suggests running something where every month having a day where we coordinate volunteers to do various things
EP suggests we have another meeting in like two weeks to catch up with each other and see where we are at