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Bristol students donate items worth over £80k to charity
Bristol students living in Unite Students accommodation have donated £86,998 worth of items to British Heart Foundation (BHF), which funds research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors.
Students in Bristol came second only to Leeds students in how much they donated to the charity.
The donated items from the students include designer handbags, clothes, and plasma TVs.
is needed now More than ever
Items have been collected in Unite Students’ 177 properties around the UK and then sold at local BHF shops to help fund their life-saving research over the last four years. In total, the value of all donations stands at £1,005,671.
Through these donations, more than 500 tonnes (the equivalent of 464 family-sized cars) of items have been saved from landfill.
Among those benefitting from BHF’s research is England Cricket selector James Taylor. His retirement from playing cricket, aged just 26, was triggered by an unexpected diagnosis of a rare, inherited heart condition.
“On behalf of the BHF, I would like to say a massive thank-you to Unite Students for their support to this great charity,” said James.
“To raise £1million is an incredible achievement and something each and every student and employee should be incredibly proud of.”
The donations were collected as part of Unite Students’ positive impact programme run in partnership with Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), the National Union of Students (NUS) sustainability charity.
“We are really pleased to hear of the generosity of students donating items and of their desire to help others whilst benefiting the environment through diverting a large amount of waste from landfill,” said Jade Monroe, senior engagement manager from SOS-UK.
“The aim of the Positive Impact programme is to encourage collaborative working between Unite Students’ staff and students to bring about positive change. The announcement of this milestone is a fantastic example of this happening in practice.”
BHF has been hit hard by the pandemic this year.
“We want to say a huge thank you to Unite Students. We have been truly humbled by their support,” said Karen O’Donoghue, head of retail partnerships at British Heart Foundation (BHF).
“The coronavirus crisis has had a huge impact on the BHF’s income this year and donations such as these will be a great help in our recovery from the pandemic.”
Main image: Unite Students
Read more: Unite Students supports youth homeless prevention in Bristol
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