With a festive period like no other, students at UWE Bristol and The Students’ Union at UWE’s staff are spreading the Christmas cheer with the Yule be on the Good List campaign. Yule be on the Good List aims to support vulnerable individuals in the Bristol community, and thanks to the generosity of students and staff, the campaign has already surpassed expectations. The campaign has two elements; creating wash packs for Street Life and designing Christmas cards for the residents of all of the care homes run by Able Care in Bristol.

Street Life is a community outreach of City Church Bristol that embraces volunteers from across the community, and from other churches. They have been providing hot meals, drinks, soup, cold meal packs and clothing to the Bristol homeless community since 1997. Street Life is run by local volunteers, and on average serves 150 people every Saturday. This year, The Students’ Union at UWE is asking for donations of shampoo, soap, shower gel, menstrual products, chocolate and more, which will make up toiletries bags. These bags will be distributed on Saturday 19 December by Street Life and The Students’ Union staff, and means that those supported by Street Life will have basic toiletries over the Christmas period.

As well as this, students and staff have been getting creative and making Christmas cards for the residents of local Able Care homes. Christmas will be different for the whole country, and for those living in care homes, this will mean that they may not be able to see loved ones. We are hoping to bring a smile to their faces through these cards. Students and staff have been picking up card-making packs from receptions across our campuses, which include everything they need to create a card. The campaign has already been a huge success, with students, staff and even the children at The Students’ Union’s Nursery making cards. This support means that we will be able to make at least one card for each resident.

President of The Students’ Union at UWE, Augusta Chidinma Nnajiofor commented “I am delighted that The Students’ Union is working to support the local community through Yule be on the Good List. In a year where we’ve all had to reduce socialising physically, this is a great way to reach out to those who otherwise may have been lonely at Christmas. I am proud of the UWE Bristol student community for getting involved with the campaign and / cannot wait to see the impact this has on the residents of Able Care Homes and the individuals supported by Street Life.”

The Students’ Union would again like to thank the UWE Bristol student community for supporting this campaign. In a year full of turbulence, we are proud that the student community has continued to work and support those who most need it. It is because of their hard work and dedication that we can make a positive impact.

We are accepting donations for Yule be on the Good List until Friday 11 December, if you would like to donate you can drop these off to either our Bower, Frenchay or Glenside Students’ Union receptions.

To find out more about the campaign, please email thestudentsunion@uwe.ac.uk.