Give It Don’t Bin It
The University of Manchester, Manchester City Council and Manchester Metropolitan University have been working together to create and deliver end of term reuse scheme packs for the Give It Don’t Bin It campaign in support of the British Heart Foundation and Manchester Central Foodbank.
The campaign aims to recycle and reuse unwanted items of clothing and food from students living both on-campus and off-campus, reducing waste in the process. All donations are directly donated to either the British Heart Foundation or Manchester Central Foodbank. In 2016, the donations made by students to the British Heart Foundation totalled an amount equivalent to £230,723, while food donations provided 2,000 meals for the Foodbank.
This year, over the course of two days, student volunteers, staff and Manchester Student Homes landlord volunteers managed to put together a staggering 19,500 packs of information and donations bags. This is vital to the project because these packs make it easier for students to donate. Therefore, the more packs made, the more donations the British Heart Foundation and Manchester Central Foodbank will be able to collect.
The British Heart Foundation also offered students, staff, Manchester Student Homes’ landlords and long term residents participating in the volunteering opportunity had the chance to undertake CPR training. A total of 95 people took part in the training, helping to raise awareness of heart disease while providing the vital skills and knowledge associated with this life-saving treatment.