Giving for Gold: 2 – 18 March 2020
Loughborough family – it’s time to act now and do your bit to help others!
Giving for Gold is a joint initiative between Loughborough University, Loughborough Students’ Union and a range of local and national charities and not for profit organisations.
Throughout the first few weeks of March, we need your help to reuse and repurpose everyday items that you no longer need to benefit others. Your positive action will not only support a range of very worthy causes, but they will also help to minimise the tonnes of waste generated every year.
And in line with the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, what better way to measure our success than to set ambitious gold, silver and bronze medal targets for the donations received.
With your support, we’ll be helping vulnerable groups of people (and dogs!) in the community whilst adopting a more sustainable approach to life by preventing these items from potentially going to landfill instead.
What is being collected?
Giving for Gold will focus on four collection themes:
- Non-perishable food
- Clothing and bedding
- Books
- Cosmetics, toiletries and sanitary products
We have ambitious bronze, silver and gold targets for each, but we cannot reach these without your support.
What can and what can’t I donate?
| Item | Can donate | Can't donate | Special requests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-perishable food | Tinned, dried foods such as soups, baked beans, pasta and rice. Food in jars/bottles such as honey, jam or tomato sauce | Food that needs to be kept refrigerated/frozen or with a sell by date less than three months | Tea, coffee, hot chocolate and sugar |
| Clothing and bedding | Men’s, women’s and children’s clothing | Soiled clothing, used underwear | Hats, scarves and gloves especially welcome |
| Books | All fiction (adult and children’s) and any text/reference book | Severely damaged books | Academic textbooks |
| Cosmetics, toiletries and sanitary products | Toiletries, cosmetics, sanitary products | Used/open items | Bubble bath, small/travel sized items |
What are the collection targets?
Where can I donate?
Donation pods will be based across campus and will be open from the 2 – 17 March. Each pod will be routinely checked and emptied to make sure there is plenty of room for everyone’s contributions.
Alternatively, you can bring your items to the Piazza in the Students’ Union on the 18 March.
Pod locations
What’s happening on the 18 March?
On the final day of the event our team will be working hard behind the scenes, packing all the donations ready for distribution to the recipient charities. We will be also accepting donations in Piazza, LSU, during this time.
Where are the donations going?
We are excited to announce that we are teaming up with a number of local and national charities and not for profit organisations who will all benefit greatly from the donations received.
Better World Books
Better World Books believe in the power of knowledge, they are committed to the cause of literacy and believe every person should have the chance to achieve their potential. Through their work they aim to enable people to make sustainable positive changes in the world.
College Garth Kennels
College Garth work locally to reunite and rehome stray dogs. They provide lost and abandoned animals with the love and care that they need to help them find a new and loving home.
Loughborough Town of Sanctuary
Loughborough Town of Sanctuary work with a range of local groups. They have a partnership with John Storer House who run a multi-use community centre providing food, drink and activities for those in need.
Rainbows Hospice
Rainbows offers the only hospice in the East Midlands for children and young people in need of vital care. They work alongside children and families who have been impacted by life limiting conditions. Their work provides end of life care, symptom management and respite care. They support not only the children affected but also their parents and siblings.
The Bridge
The Bridge work with the local community to deliver a number of specialist housing related advice, support and assistance services to the homeless and vulnerably housed people across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Their vision is to create resilient, compassionate communities where individuals can thrive in safe and secure homes.
The British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation’s vision is for a world free from fear of heart and circulatory diseases. Through their shops they sell a variety of items to raise vital funds that allow them to research cures and treatments to reach this goal.
How can I help to spread the word?
Tips for getting your sports team / student group involved
- Social media – get your team media rep(s) on the job and get them posting up the team’s support for the campaign – use #GivingForGold and tag us! Use our toolkit below to grab the graphics and suggested wording
- Sports teams could ‘Bring a tin to train’, for example. Get everyone to bring a specific item to a training session, and have a welfare rep / committee member collect them for a team donation. Make sure to take a photo with the items and tag @LboroUniversity and #GivingForGold!
- Dedicate a social to the campaign – ask everyone to bring an item for Giving for Gold, take a photo and tag the hashtag, and make a team donation on the 18th.
- On 18th March, regardless of when you made your donations, get involved– share photos and messages on social media using #GivingForGold, encourage or challenge other teams / student groups to get involved, and make sure to come down to Room 1 on the day to collect your thank you present as a team.
- Message the group chat to tell them about the campaign and include a link to the website. We’ve got some suggested messaging in our toolkit below to help you out.
Tips for getting your office involved
- Pop a poster up on the office door, kitchen door, or notice board
- Email your office or building, letting them know where the nearest donation point is
- Make a collection point in your own offices and encourage everyone to bring a variety of items – check that it is all accepted items, and then donate as a team on the 18th of March, collecting your thank you present when you do!
- Organise a team or office lunch, make it a Giving for Gold social, and have a collection of items alongside it – for example, bring a bag of pasta, a box of teabags, etc.
Tips for getting your friends / neighbors involved
- Fridge – pop a reminder of the campaign on your fridge or somewhere in a shared space
- Make a collection point in your communal space for a house or flat donation – this collection point will remind people to donate, and items people no longer want may be more likely to be donated
- House team clean! – make the most of spring cleaning and clear out items from the house you no longer need
Toolkit for social media
To help you spread the message about the campaign, we’ve prepared a toolkit for you to use. This toolkit includes suggested messaging and assets, for use across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Download any of the images below. We've also created some suggested messaging in the file download below for you to use and personalise.
Images for Facebook and LinkedIn
Images for an Instagram carousel
Images for Instagram Story
Contact us
Kirsty Wilkinson
Claire Fletcher