Students raise £10,000 for children’s hospice

Professor Peter Byers and Claire Bear, the official mascot for the children’s hospice charity.
Claire House staff Avril Parr and Rhyanna Morris were overwhelmed with the amount raised by LJMU students.
Claire Bear celebrates receiving £10,000 from LJMU for Claire House Children’s Hospice.
Claire Bear meets new students during LJMU’s welcome event for new students in St George’s Hall.
Claire Bear rocks LJMU’s welcome event in St George’s Hall.

LJMU students have raised £10,000 for Claire House Children’s Hospice but rather than running 5k, holding bake sales or other sponsored activities, the students raised the money by completing a series of surveys for the University.

Find out how the money was raised here

“Every year we ask students to tell us what they like about studying at LJMU and where they think further enhancements could be made,” explains Professor Peter Byers, LJMU’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education). “To encourage high response rates we offer incentives, like free graduation photos or print credits. This year we changed our approach and said that for every survey completed we would make a donation to a local charity and the students’ response was phenomenal.”

So much so that over 3,500 students completed the National Student Survey in just four weeks – 20% higher than in the previous year. In total over 6,000 students completed four surveys between January and June 2017, raising £10,000 for Claire House Children’s Hospice – as chosen by the Liverpool Students’ Union’s Raise and Give Society.

“We’re so pleased our Raise and Give Society chose Claire House to benefit from funds raised by LJMU students,” says Rachael Smart, Vice-President (Activities) at LiverpoolSU. “It’s amazing to see how much money has been raised for such a worthwhile charity.”

The £10,000 raised is enough to cover the running costs of Claire House’s hospice in the Wirral for one day, as Avril Parr, Claire House’s Community Fundraiser explains: “As a local children’s hospice, £10,000 is an incredible amount and we are absolutely overwhelmed. For every child we are currently caring for, there is another we are not. With the support from LJMU, we can make this change happen and care for all of those families who desperately need our support, and help them smile again when they are going through the toughest of times.”

LJMU has chosen to sponsor the hospice on a very special day in the University’s calendar, the 26 September 2017. That’s because on this day 25 years ago, in 1992, LJMU became one of the UK’s new universities following an incorporation ceremony in Liverpool Cathedral.

“The fact that so many of our students took the time to complete these important surveys is amazing and their feedback will help make the University better for students now and in the future,” adds Professor Byers. “What better way could we say thanks to our students and mark our 25^th anniversary than by giving something back to the community and helping some of the region’s most seriously ill children and their families.”

The surveys completed by students were the National Student Survey for final year undergraduates (an independent survey run by Ipsos MORI), the UK Engagement Survey for other undergraduate students, the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey and the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey.