From RAG to riches: fundraising extravaganza returns to Warwick

Warwick’s annual RAG Week, a 7-day fundraising event, commenced on Monday 5 January.

RAG (Raising and Giving) Week is a tradition at the University of Warwick and many other universities around the country, entailing a week of events that raise money for a variety of charitable organisations.

This year Warwick RAG’s chosen charities were Fairy Bricks, SENSE, and Guide Dogs. Fairy Bricks donates LEGO to hospitals and hospices for children, SENSE is a disability charity that supports individuals with complex communication needs, and Guide Dogs is a charity that supports blind or partially-sighted individuals by providing guide dogs to aid mobility and independence.

This year’s events included: ‘Warwick does Strictly’ in the Copper Rooms featuring the Latin and Ballroom Dancing Society; a version of dating show Take Me Out featuring the Asian Society and the Economics Society; and ‘Pie in the Face’ on the Piazza, an annual event in the RAG Week calendar which sees big names from around Warwick’s campus being hit in the face with plates of whipped cream.

I’m thrilled that RAG week has been such a success and that so many societies and sports clubs have come together

 – Grace Thomas

In addition, Warwick Jailbreak, the annual event in which Warwick students are tasked with travelling as far away from campus as possible in 36 hours and with no money, was included in this year’s RAG Week.

The collaboration between RAG and Jailbreak societies commenced on Saturday 10 February and aimed to raise money for Newlife, a charity for disabled children.

This year’s Jailbreak was won by ‘Team Blue Waffle’ who reached Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Canary Islands, having spent 12 hours at Manchester Airport trying to raise sufficient funds.

The runners up were team ‘Don’t send us back to Coventry’ who travelled 1440.30 by reaching Stockholm in Sweden and team ‘Wally and Wendy!’ who travelled 959.00 km by reaching Geneva in Switzerland.

RAG Week isn’t all about raising money and we want to give the charities a chance to get as involved as possible!

– Hannah McAloone

Warwick RAG’s President Grace Thomas told The Boar: “I’m thrilled that RAG week has been such a success and that so many societies and sports clubs have come together to raise money for some amazing causes. I think it’s a testament to the spirit of Warwick students.”

Hannah McAloone, Events Officer for RAG, also told The Boar: “We decided to work with a few different charities this year as we have so many that apply to us each year and we wanted to give as many as possible a chance to raise awareness on campus.

“We wanted a few events that allowed each charity to reach new people and a few with big fundraising potential to balance out the week.

“RAG Week isn’t all about raising money and we want to give the charities a chance to get as involved as possible!”