We Are Community Focused & Proud!
Winchester Student Union is proud of its members and the positive impact students have on the local community. Too often we see and hear the negative attitudes and responses to the part students can play in the community, and we want to work harder at ensuring that we shout about everything our students bring to Winchester.
From volunteering and fundraising, to work-related placements and taking up weekend/evening jobs, supporting local businesses and retail, our students are valuable members of this community. Winchester would be a very different city if it was not for the students who make up nearly 8,000 of its residents.
Earlier this year the University of Winchester released a regional economic impact report that brought attention to the positive economic impact students and the University have on the region. Some of the headlines included that “the University of Winchester contributes over £266 million a year to the regional business community” and that our alumni add around £203million through the impact of the skills acquired by students remaining in the region. You can read the full economic impact report here.
However, we also accept that our students are more than just the money they bring to the local area. Winchester students and staff combine to volunteer over 30,000 hour each year, in the local community and beyond. In addition, students have raised over £10,000 for good causes through Winchester Student Union RAG activity and events.
Furthermore, the courses and opportunities taken by our students are also designed to ensure they become valuable future members of the community who undertake some of the most important jobs, caring for the communities more vulnerable individuals. From teachers to psychotherapists, social workers to in the near future nurses, our students will go on to do even more. And it must not be underestimated the positive impact our students have when on placements as trainee teachers, physiotherapists and social workers. Our students are already teaching the generations of the future and helping our most vulnerable recover from life changing injuries.
We are community focused and proud. We are Winchester.
