Oxford Brookes donates items which could raise over £22,000 for charity

Collecting almost 1600 bags of donations, the amount raised by Oxford Brookes students equates to 80% of the city-wide total for this year’s campaign.

Pack for Good encourages students to donate their unwanted clothes, shoes, electricals, books and other items before leaving campus at the end of term. The campaign is supported by Oxford City Council, Oxford Brookes and the University of Oxford.

Despite COVID-19, students continue to help an important cause

This year, students donated their items while moving out of their accommodation before the first national lockdown in March.

Michele Morley, Environmental Sustainability Manager at Oxford Brookes University explains: “Due to the pandemic the end-of-year Pack for Good campaign didn’t take place as normal and we had to change some of the ways that students could donate.

“Despite the challenges, our staff continued to encourage students to use the donation points and found temporary storage solutions to ensure items were safely stored until the British Heart Foundation were able to collect them. We raised 80% of the city-wide total which is a fantastic amount, especially considering the circumstances at the time.

“I’m extremely proud of the efforts our students and staff have made to contribute towards this important cause, especially at this crucial time when many charitable organisations are struggling to raise the necessary funds critical to their important work.”

The British Heart Foundation has calculated the value of the donated items which will now be sold in the charity’s shops. It is expected that up to £28,826 can be raised from all of the donations across Oxford, including Oxford Brookes’ contribution.

Supporting research, nursing and patients

The donations from Oxford Brookes could equate to the following:

• 10 bags fund a full day’s BHF Heart Nursing care. In one day, a Heart Nurse could care for up to six patients to help them manage their condition and prevent further hospital readmissions.
• 100 bags could help find a cure by funding a BHF young scientist for seven days. BHF provides the salaries for around 500 post-doctoral scientists who work in research teams across the UK on projects to better understand how to diagnose, prevent, treat and cure heart disease.
• 1000 bags could help 40 young heart patients to gain independence, new skills and confidence whilst meeting other young heart patients.

Financial pressures for pioneering charity

During the UK’s first national lockdown period, the British Heart Foundation’s shops were closed and staff furloughed. It is estimated that the charity lost approximately £50 million in revenue.

The British Heart Foundation has pioneered research into coronary heart disease which is the UK’s single biggest killer, to transform the lives of people living with heart and circulatory conditions. Money raised for the charity funds essential research into cures and treatments.

The Pack for Good campaign has been running in Oxford since 2012. More information about Oxford Brookes’ commitment to social responsibility can be found on the Sustainability webpages.