We started October with a host of events.  We held the annual Welcome Fair where local and national organisations spoke to students and gave information and freebies away.  This was followed by the Student Activities Awareness Fair, World Mental Health day and for the first time, the SU Volunteering Fair.

Students were able to chat to officers of both Society and Sporting Clubs, find out what they do, where they meet and how to join.  We had a stand at the University’s World Mental Health day and we held our first ever Volunteer Fair. 

Volunteering is a new venture for the SU and we are very excited to offer this new and rewarding service to students.  We hosted over 27 organisations local to Bolton who are actively recruiting volunteers.  We are pleased to say that many of you registered with the organisations to volunteer.  If you are interested in volunteering, please visit our volunteering page.   Volunteering offers the chance for you to give something back to the community or make a difference to the people around you. It provides you with an opportunity to develop new skills or build on existing experiences and knowledge, get involved in something you care about or get involved with something new. 

We celebrated Black History month with the African Community Association of Bolton.  They brought lots of drums and students were able to drum along to various tracks. At one point during the morning the top section of the mall was filled drummers and dancers, which was great to see.  There was also a screening of a documentary in the Loft about freedom fighters.

We have also been very busy writing the Quality and Standards Review Student Submission.  This report reflects on the partnership of Bolton SU and the University of Bolton to create change leading to positive outcomes for students.   You can view the report here.

Our Academic Engagement Coordinator, Jess with help from Ben, our Volunteering Coordinator, has been running the Course Rep Training Sessions, with over 350 Course Reps to train, it’s been very busy.  Course Reps represent their fellow students who will, after the course, be able to act as first point of contact to their cohort regarding course issues.

Danielle has also been busy with Society officer training.  We have quite a few new societies, so check out the Societies page for full information.