Tuesday 20-06-2023 - 07:58

A massive thank you to GCU Foundation for supporting our Sports Clubs, Societies, Groups and Networks this year.

 

Twenty-Four of our sports clubs, societies, groups and networks benefitted from donations from GCU Foundation from the Common Good Fund.

 

This funding from GCU Foundation is vital in helping to organise and run activities and events, buy new equipment and pay for fees and instructors. Here’s what our students thought about the funding:

 

‘The project has positively impacted our club as it has allowed us to purchase some new kit for our athletes to compete in. Because of this project, we have been in a position to sell the kit to members at a reduced price as, in the current cost of living crisis, it can be hard especially for students to be able to afford new kit.’

Jamie Arnott, Athletics, President    

 

‘This fund gave us the chance to enter a team into the BUCS individual championships and gain experience in a national level competition.’

Molly Cant, Badminton, Social Media and Sponsorship Secretary

 

‘The common good fund allowed us to ensure games went ahead and that GCU students can come to multiple basketball sessions a week. The funding is important as it allows us to keep our team ready to play games and for many GCU students to take part in a non-academic activity.’

Jack Adams, Basketball Mens, President

‘Receiving money from the common good fund has had a fantastic impact on our club. The money is a great contribution towards costs of the sports hall, hiring refs, improving equipment and travel to away matches. This gives many young people the opportunity to come along to training and experience basketball, which has a positive effect on student’s physical and mental health. It also provides players and newer players to increase experience through the thrill of the game with the opportunity to compete with other universities, this will further the popularity of the sport and camaraderie around this unique university experience. This year has seen a growth in new players already interested in joining basketball. Overall, the common good funding has had a very positive effect on the club and players as the committee continue to grow and improve.’

Saoirse Ferguson, Basketball Womens, Treasurer

‘Receiving the Common Good funding allowed us to pay for every single member’s fee for the annual QMU competition. This is the only competition in our annual calendar where all of our teams perform in the same event, on the same day. It was therefore an important bonding experience for our members as they got to cheer each other on and share this important day with the entire club, rather than just their usual team. QMU is an important event for us as it is organised by the Queen Margaret University and several other Scottish universities attend. We therefore get to support a university-led event, cheer other university teams on and showcase our amazing talent to the other universities across Scotland. QMU is also our last competition in the calendar, making it an especially important and emotional day for those graduating. Finally, our Cheer team received their best score ever at QMU this year, placing first in their category, which was an incredible moment for not only the Cheer team itself but the entire club.’

Laiba Sabir, Cheerleading, Treasurer

‘This funding has helped to establish the cricket club at GCU. Offering students a chance to play the game they love and be active with fellow GCU students. Thank you GCU Foundation for all your support.’

Anoop PK, Cricket, President

‘The funding has really helped us as we have been able to afford great costumes that will be able to stay within dance and get used by future students.  It has also made it more feasible for people to take part in competitions, which allowed us to attend 3 competitions this year and enter more dances into each competition.  Using the money to subsidise travel and petrol costs has also been a great help! Overall, this funding has allowed more individuals to get involved with dance and attend competitions, removing some of the finance barriers that would have previously stopped people from joining. We are extremely grateful, thank you very much.’

Kirsty Walker, Dance, President

 

‘I am writing to express our society's heartfelt gratitude and sincere appreciation for the generous support you have provided us through your invaluable initiative, the Common Good Fund.  Through your support, we were able to organize an amazing event which boosted the Glasgow and Scottish esports scene. The positive ripple effect of your contribution is immeasurable, and it will continue to reverberate through our community in the future. Please accept our deepest gratitude for recognizing the importance of our cause and investing in our efforts. Your trust and belief in our work have reinforced our commitment to serving the common good. We are truly humbled and inspired by your generosity.  We understand that the Common Good Fund plays a pivotal role in empowering organizations like ours to make a genuine difference. Your dedication to creating a better world, one that fosters equality, opportunity, and positive change, is truly commendable. We feel privileged to be among the recipients of your support.’

William Vogt, E-Sports, Events Manager

‘The funds GCU fencing received from the common good award enabled to club to contribute to the revival of “The Glasgow Open” fencing tournament. The Glasgow Open is one of the largest fencing competitions in Scotland, and as of right now, the only competition running in the central belt. The Glasgow Open revival is a project that has been run by GCU Fencing, Glasgow University Fencing Club, and Salle Solas Fencing Club. By participating in this project, GCU fencing has raised its profile amongst its contemporaries. In addition, the Glasgow Open running once again has been incredibly beneficial as a nearby competition for GCU Fencing’s latest cadre of beginners. Specifically, this was the first fencing competition that our beginner member Allan Smith was able to enter as an individual. Without this event he would not have been able to gain this valuable on piste experience. Other members of the club were able to compete, with GCU student Elsie Llewellyn winning a silver medal in women's sabre.’

Ruaridh McNair, Fencing, President

‘Being able to receive these funds has allowed us to pay for a coach this first semester. This has been key to developing the basic skills as a lot of the players are new to the sport. We are very grateful to have been awarded this.’

Rory Fraser, Gaelic Football Mens, Treasurer

‘This funding, has really helped our students and club. With help with this funding we have been able to buy you training equipment, such as footballs. This has been a huge factor in helping us become British champions this year. With limited supplies to train with, there simply very little we can do as a society. Thank you for your support and funding this year.’

Ellie Agnew, Gaelic Football Womens, Chairperson

‘Thank you very much for your generous donation from the GCU Foundation! We found that it really helped us plan a fantastic night for everyone, and many attendees came up to us afterwards to say it was well organised and that they enjoyed themselves. We also had the chance to promote the service and hand out merchandise so that more students can know about Nightline, which was the aim of the night! It was also great as many of our anonymous volunteers came. Due to the budget provided by you, we were also able to give them a slight discount for their work throughout the year, and it was a fun and relaxing night off for them.’

Steph Vencalkova, Glasgow Students' Nightline, External Director

 

‘Thank you for this fund, it has allowed as to continue providing karate to the students.’

Nafeesa Beg, Karate, President

 

‘We had students attend who had never been bowling before because it was out of their price range. We were able to meet people who haven't been able to come to events previously, or were too nervous to and this was the push that they needed! Some people even came alone which can be a big step!’

Heather Kingham, Marketing Society, President

 

‘The map cases and compasses where used when we went up Ben Chonzie with a mountain leader for navigation training. this benefited members by allowing students to safely navigate and enjoy the outdoors more.  The ropes and rope bags have helped members of the club try lead climbing which they would not have been able to do if they did not have a rope.  The sleeping matts allowed members of the club to come on our weekend trip to Glencoe in January where they received valuable training on winter mountaineering skills.  The boxes helped protect our kit and make transport easier ensuring that future members can also gain the positive impacts listed above.’

Jacob Codd, Mountaineering, Treasurer

‘On behalf of the GCU Netball Club, I would like to say a huge thank you to the GCU Foundation for their donation towards our club. It has had a huge impact on our club as we were able to buy everything we were hoping for. This included a new set of 10 netballs and the bag to go with them, as well as two new sets of bibs and some whistles. We were in desperate need of bibs as we did not even have one full set!! The club will also benefit from having new netballs as most of ours had lost their grip. Thank you so much!’

Savannah Harper, Netball, Treasurer

‘We think at the charity ball it is a great idea to have a photographer because it allows people to get group pictures and remember a fantastic night. We were able to hire a photobooth and this meant that our students received a print out of their picture to keep. We also get access to our pictures online. As this is a charity ball, we aim to keep our costs low so that we can donate as much money as possible. This year we were raising money for Parkinson’s UK in Scotland, a charity which is important to physiotherapists and especially important to my family as my grandpa and uncle both lived with this condition. With the common good fund, we were able to reduce the costs of the photo booth which meant that we could keep ticket costs lower, as well as insuring more money was able to be donated to our charity. We have not yet got a total for our fundraising efforts but keep an eye on our social media accounts! I have attached a picture that we got in the photo booth at the hall with the common good fund banner. Thank you so much for awarding us this funding as it has not only benefited our students, but will also benefit Parkinson’s UK in Scotland!’

Hannah Thomson, Physio Society, Treasurer

‘Radio Caley want to give a huge thank you to The Common Good Fund and The GCU Foundation for their generous donation. The money went toward our license for 2023 allowing us to air 24/7 and for students to continue their shows and programmes, playing hundreds of great tracks. We couldn’t have done it without them!’

Louise Hannah, Radio Caley, Station Manager

‘This money has helped the club pay for transportation to away games. Greatly improving the team’s attitude to come to away games and making it easier for them to take part.’

Adam Fitzpatrick, Rugby Mens, Treasurer

‘The funding has enabled our club to run extra sessions which has improved the tennis ability and fitness of our members. These additional sessions benefited our team players in particular who were coming up against teams such as Saint Andrews and Stirling who train numerous times each week. It also helped our club to pay for transport and accommodation for away team fixtures, in order to alleviate financial strain on students. Overall, our club as a whole is stronger as a result of the common good initiative.’

Charlie Smith, Tennis, President

‘We used it to produce our final edition of the year, The Spring Edition which also featured the incredible candidates who ran for FTO election. Without the Common Good Fund this edition wouldn’t have been possible so we are super thankful we got it so we could continue to produce our magazine.’

Rachel-Louise Gibson, The EDIT, Editor

‘Thanks to the common good fund we were able to service our trampolines as there are well-used and loved by the club! This allows our members to train freely and safely as any problems that could have arisen have thankfully been addressed and fixed. This aids in the running of the club and the development of new skills by our wonderful members.’

Gemma Miller, Trampolining, Treasurer

 

‘The common good fund has allowed Men's Volleyball to continue competing and entering additional tournaments hosted by Scottish Volleyball. Extra game time is vital to our team's development and improvement and provides all our players with more opportunities in a competitive environment. The fund will help cover transport, entering fees and ref costs!’

Eben Crichton, Volleyball Mens, President

‘The new barbell we have been able to purchase has greatly improved the quality of our group training session, it has directly helped our members improve their lifts.’

Joseph Abbot, Weightlifting, Treasurer