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What is RAG?

Reading Raising And Giving (RAG) is the official fundraising body at The University of Reading. As a student-orientated society, we work to fundraise for a variety of charities, locally and globally, as well as engaging widely with the local community. To do this, we provide students with exciting events and experiences, from themed union nights to hitching across the country and into Europe.

All donations from our events and challenges go towards our chosen charities and we are always interested in trying new things! So get involved, dig deep and help us get everyone on campus talking about Reading RAG! In previous years, we’ve raised thousands of pounds and sent students to Nepal, Peru, Abu Dhabi and Morocco. Whilst we navigate the new world characterised by social distancing measures, we continue to deliver great, in-person events to fundraise for our partner charities, but it’s all a learning curve, so if you have any ideas for in-person, socially distanced events you would like to see run by us, get in contact with us and pitch it to us!

Why should you join RAG?

Not only is your involvement with RAG key to help fundraise and support charitable causes, RAG also allows students to develop invaluable skills, memories and experiences that no other society can provide. Skill development and volunteering are two crucial values that extra-curricular societies can give you, alongside your degree, and Reading RAG are here to help.

If you’re a sports team or society trying to get accredited, your volunteering hours can be signed off by us simply for attending one of our events. Check out the Sports Teams and Society Fundraising section further down the page for more information. We can also sign off volunteering hours for those undertaking the University’s RED Award.

With the charity sector taking a huge hit this year as a result of the pandemic, any support we can give is appreciated and will have a massive impact. By getting your free membership, you can keep up to date with our events, and by attending, you provide support that can make a difference to these charities.

Challenge Charities for 2020/21

Marie Curie

Marie Curie is the UK’s leading end of life charity. They provide frontline nursing and hospice care, a free support line and a wealth of information and support on all aspects of dying, death and bereavement.

At Marie Curie they believe everyone living with a terminal illness should be able to get the most from the time they have left, however hard that may sometimes feel. Their researchers, policy experts and campaigners push the boundaries of knowledge around what makes a good death, and fight for a society where everyone gets the best experience possible at the end of their lives.

If you’re interested in fundraising for this charity, check out the challenge we’re running with them this year. If you want more information, or you want to find out if you can still sign up for this year’s trek email us at rag@reading.ac.uk or our partner tour operator Choose a Challenge at hello@chooseachallenge.com.

Meningitis Research Foundation

Meningitis Research Foundation is a leading UK, Irish and international charity that brings together people and expertise to defeat meningitis and septicaemia wherever it exists.

Their vision is of a world free from meningitis and septicaemia. A world where effective vaccinations can protect everyone. A world where people who do get the diseases get the most effective diagnosis and treatments possible. A world where people affected and their families have the best support and information.

If you’re interested in fundraising for this charity, check out the challenge we’re running with them this year. If you want more information, or you want to find out if you can still sign up for this year’s trek email us at rag@reading.ac.uk or our partner tour operator Choose a Challenge at hello@chooseachallenge.com.

Hope for Children

Hope for Children is an international charity working towards a world where every child has a happy childhood that sets them up for a positive future.

Hope for Children creates opportunities for overlooked, vulnerable and exploited children living in extreme poverty - currently they are focused in five countries - Ghana, India, The Philippines, Sri Lanka and Uganda, working with local people to create sustainable solutions.

Partner Charities for 2020/21

Mind charity logo

Mind provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. They won't give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect.

New Beginnings logo

New Beginnings Reading is a homeless charity based in Reading, UK. Their aims are the prevention and relief of poverty and financial hardship of persons in Reading who are in need due to social or economic reasons, regardless of their religion or belief.

Donate

If you believe in the work our partner charities do as much as us and want to donate, you can donate £2.50 to them here. The amount may be as small as the price of a coffee, but it will make a huge difference.

RAG Donation

Ref: P10006190

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Price: £2.50
Non Student Membership

Committee 2020/21

  • RUSU RAG President for 2020/21
    President – Cait

    We want to take this opportunity to start introducing our new committee for 2020/21, starting with our president, Cait!

    Cait is back at the Uni as a Master’s student and this is her second year on RAG. After things were cut short last year, Cait is looking forward to continuing the great events RAG hosts and raising money for our partner charities. When she’s not working on RAG-related stuff, you can find Cait around RUSU as she is a Trustee on the RUSU Board - feel free to go and say hello!

  • RUSU RAG Head of Events for 2020/21
    Head of Events – Grace

    Our Head of Events this year is Grace!

    Grace is going into her fourth year studying Economics after returning from placement to be Head of Events. This is her third year on committee having been student engagement and halls co-ordinator previously and she is very excited to get stuck into a new position. She’s previously completed Three Peaks Challenge with RAG in aid of Action Against Hunger and found it extremely rewarding (but tiring!)

  • RUSU RAG Challenges Officer for 2020/21
    Challenges Officer – Rhian

    Our next Committee member is Rhian our Challenges Officer.

    Rhian is in her second year studying Psychology with Neuroscience and is excited to get involved with RAG after being a challenge leader last year. She’s always down to travel or see live music and can’t wait to finally make it to Everest in 2021!

  • RUSU RAG Treasurer for 2020/21
    Treasurer/Secretary – Jeyda

    Our next Committee member is our Treasurer and Secretary, Jeyda!

    Jeyda is about to begin her Master’s studying International Commercial Law. She has never been involved in RAG before, but is excited to be part of the committee and all of the events we hold!

  • RUSU RAG Social Media Officer for 2020/21
    Social Media Officer – Becki

    Our next Committee member is Becki, one of our Social Media Officers!

    Becki is a fourth-year German and Spanish student who is new to RAG but is excited to be a part of the committee. Becki loves travelling and getting involved with as many new experiences as possible.

  • RUSU RAG Social Media Officer for 2020/21
    Social Media Officer – Ellie

    Our next Committee member is another of our Social Media Officers, Ellie!

    Ellie is going into her 4th year studying Chemistry, and is completely new to RAG but very excited to be a part of the events for this year! While she loves spending time in the lab, weekends are for playing on her Switch and going for walks by the river or the Uni lake.

  • RUSU RAG Fundraising & Events Officer for 2020/21
    Fundraising & Events Officer – Chloe

    Chloe is one of our Fundraising and Events Officers this year!

    Chloe is a second-year Politics and International Relations student and this is her first year involved with RAG! She's excited to help plan events for all students this year. In her spare time, Chloe can be found making shapes with the trampolining team.

  • RUSU RAG Fundraising & Events Officer for 2020/21
    Fundraising & Events Officer – Konstantina

    Our next Fundraising and Events Officer this year is Konstantina!

    Konstantina is a third-year Law student interested in human rights and politics. She enjoys music and literature and travelling! Alongside her studies, Konstantina likes contributing to the community around her and that is why she is volunteering with Make A Wish UK and is also the new RUSU Disabled Students' Officer!

  • RUSU RAG Sports & Societies Officer for 2020/21
    Sports & Societies Officer – Lauren

    Our next Committee member is one of our Sports & Societies Officers, Lauren!

    Lauren is new to RAG but is excited about her new role. She is a second-year Law student who was previously a marketing apprentice which is why the role suits her so well. She is looking forward to getting involved, so don’t hesitate to contact her if you’re a sports team or society looking to get involved!

  • RUSU RAG Sports & Societies Officer for 2020/21
    Sports & Societies Officer – Nicoletta

    Our next Committee member is another of our Sports & Societies Officers, Nicoletta!

    Nicoletta is a second-year Computer Science student. This is her first year on the RAG committee and she cannot wait to help out as one of the two Sports and Societies Officers!

    Other than RAG, she keeps busy as a member of the debate, politics and LASS societies and as a devout fan of all things Union.

  • RUSU RAG Student Engagement Officer for 2020/21
    Student Engagement Officer – Taj

    Our next Committee member is our Student Engagement Officer, Taj!

    Taj is in his second year of studying Law. He is a thoughtful and logical person who likes challenges, especially business-related ones. He also enjoys caving which often leads to wonderful explorations.

Events

All our events are advertised on our Facebook page and will tickets will always be available to buy through the Student Unions’ official ticketing profile

Challenges

Reading RAG work with Choose a Challenge to deliver our bigger challenges.

This means that we work with charities who have been approved through a rigorous application process and to ensure that high standards are achieved across the board.

Choose a Challenge work closely with charities to create meaningful, lasting relationships. By giving our students the experience of a lifetime, we encourage them to become lifelong supporters of their charity, and avid adventure-seekers.

This also ensures that all Health and Safety requirements are taken care of and students are able to go on trips with other University groups, forming life-long friendships with people they may otherwise never get the opportunity to meet.

Choose a Challenge are passionate about responsible tourism and ensure the challenges they run are ethical and sustainable. They carbon offset all of their challenges in partnership with the charity WeForest, and have taken a Travellers Against Plastic (TAP) pledge to commit to reducing and avoiding using single-use plastics across their trips. Choose a Challenge also believes firmly that challenges should be locally-led, and so their in-country teams are made up of local people with expert local knowledge and a genuine passion for the sites and communities in which they are based. You can find out more about Choose a Challenge’s ethics here at the Choose a Challenge website.

Sports Teams and Society Fundraising

Are you involved with a club or society and want to get involved with our fundraising efforts?

Your society can do almost anything to raise money for charity and as all fundraising within the SU must go through RAG (Raise and Give), we can provide anything you need to do it successfully; whether you want to borrow buckets, volunteers, publicity, collection permits and or anything else you might need.

There is such a diverse range of clubs and societies on campus that every club and society could get involved with a variety of different events. You can choose a specific charity that you want to support with your club or society, or all the money you raise can go to support RAG’s partner charities New Beginnings and Mind. If you’re looking for a charity to support and want to browse our contact database, please get in touch with us via email.

Getting your society involved is easy and here are some ways you can!

  • Take part in a street collection for charity - RAG can organise a permit for you in any city of your choice.
  • Book a table as a team or society at one our events, such as Bingo or the Student Auction - please be advised teams and societies may only book one table at these events to adhere with RUSU’s guidelines on socials.
  • Perform/show off your skills at any of our events, from the Sleepout to Bingo.
  • If you run performances, games or any other type of events, donate the proceeds to charity or have some volunteers collect on the day.
  • Run an event specifically for charity - dance shows, sports competitions, stunt days etc.

You really can do anything and the skills you have within your club or society really can make a difference.

FAQ

Our ethos is that we are student lead, with fundraising done by students for the causes that they care about. We find that most of the students who choose to fundraise with us come to us with an organisation in mind already that they want to support. However, for the few that are unsure we keep a Charity Database that we share with them of organisations who have approached us.

If you would like to add your organisation to our database please contact us at rag@reading.ac.uk.

We have a full time staff member who work towards helping with budgeting, finance, risk assessments, insurance, event-planning and other fundraising legalities.

RAG is also a working committee consisting of volunteers who can all help you in your fundraising. We can assist you with designing publicity and advertising your events using our Facebook and Instagram pages.

We can sort out more formal things as well, giving you the buckets for you to collect money in. We’re also here to help with any general fundraising queries and to guide you through your event – by the end of the year you’ll be doing it like second nature!

RAG buckets can be collected from Student Activities. Please could you collect them from the Student Activities Office or email student.activities@rusu.co.uk to arrange collection.

Email rag@reading.ac.uk and we’ll do our best to answer your question.

Join RAG

Get your free membership to stay up to date with our events and challenges through our monthly newsletters.

Join

  • RAG Student Membership£0.00

Get in touch

Email rag@reading.ac.uk
Instagram @ReadingRAG
Facebook RAG Reading