Good Deed Day
Good Deed Day saw over 200 students from Brunel University and Uxbridge College take to Uxbridge High Street and the Pavilions for a day of mass volunteering.
Over 530 volunteering hours were recorded by both students and staff as they kindly donated their time throughout the day. Their time was spent undertaking a variety of pre-arranged and spontaneous good deeds. This included: Bag packing in both Tesco Metro and Marks and Spencer Supporting the DASH bingo and keep fit events Taking on a trolley sweep of the town centre Cleaning scooters for Shop Mobility Washing windows for Thames Hospice Fundraising for the Mayor’s charity (£453 raised!)
The headquarters for the day saw a constant stream of shoppers popping in for a chat, as well as free tea and coffee made by the volunteers. Just outside on the high street, the town centre was buzzing throughout the day with a variety of performance acts from both the university and the college. These included singers, musicians, dancers, the Circus Society, and even the Brunel American Football Team.
The Mayor of Hillingdon, Councillor Alan Kauffman gave a closing speech after the performances that praised the success of the day, held on Tuesday 12th November. “Today, all those involved with Good Deed Day are giving a service to the community that is much appreciated. These activities would not have been as successful without the support of the partnership between the University, the Pavilions and Uxbridge College.” He notes, Communities have broken down and events such as this help us to build them back up.”
Priya Pallan, the manager of Brunel Volunteers, spoke on behalf of the Brunel community. “Staff and students at Brunel do thousands of hours of volunteering a year, which is often behind closed doors. Good Deed Day highlights the positive impact that Brunel has on the local community.”
The positive feedback that Good Deed Day generated has resulted in a significant increase in the amount of applicants in volunteering at Brunel, which directly feeds back into Uxbridge and its surrounding area.