Written by third year student and Community Service Student Leader, Emma Ward
Emmanuel’s efforts in the Community portfolio were on display right from the beginning of the year. Week two saw devastating floods occur throughout Brisbane, causing immense damage both on campus and around St Lucia. With university cancelled for the week, all the colleges used their spare time to lend a hand to nearby residents whose homes were affected. The Blue Dog presence and helpfulness was overwhelming, with the Courier Mail deeming us the “unsung heroes of the South-East Queensland floods.” Although the floods resulted in Clean Up Australia Day being cancelled, the support from Emman to the wider community so early in the year set a great precedent for the community events to come.
We were sad to see Laps for Life get washed out by the floods. However, this did not stop our Emman team from raising $1500 for ReachOut Australia by taking to the UQ Athletics track to complete some on-land laps instead. Shout out to Edward Yu for raising the most in the team! The Glaister wing was on their fitness journey this year and keen to get involved in as many team events as possible. Congratulations to the wing for raising $1200 in the May 50k and special shout out to Oscar Lane for organising the Push-Up Challenge. The Emmanuel Push-Up Challenge team raised an incredible $4764 with Emma Marsden raising $490 herself! A remarkable effort was also made by Georgina Robinson and Ross Lawson-Smith in the National Breast Cancer Foundation 55 Squat Challenge who made sure to still get in their daily squats during the flood clean-ups, even if that meant doing them knee-deep in mud!
Not only did Emman help the wider community this year, but we also got to care for and celebrate our own community. We thanked the staff for their enduring support throughout the floods and celebrated the cultural diversity of Blue Dogs with Harmony Week. On Earth Day, we switched off the college’s lights from 8am to 4pm and enjoyed some much needed time in the sun. We showed the community garden some TLC with a Wellness Wednesday Garden Party, planting beans, carrots, peas, radishes, tomatoes and capsicums. Many thanks to staff members, Dan, Ali and Diana for all their help with these events!
Sustainability Week in August flew by. It began with Money-Making Monday and Trash-Free Tuesday. The themes of Sustainability Week focused on reducing waste at college, whether that be food, material, or fuel waste. Many people enjoyed the suitcase rummage in the QUAD to reduce our participation in fast fashion. Ashleigh Glover and Charles Brennand managed to sell some vintage Emman sports merch, while Hayley Higgins managed to donate almost her entire wardrobe!
We returned the gold coin donation entry to Emman @ Home this year and successfully contributed $280 to Bush Heritage Australia’s conservation program. “Do it in a Dress” was the final fundraising event of the year with all UQ Colleges competing. Emmanuellians donned their school dresses to university classes, the beach, sports matches and even theatre performances. Great effort by Mackenzie Brown and Miranda Broadfoot for sporting their dresses so frequently and stylishly. Congratulations to Alexis Goodall for raising the most in the team.
It has been an incredibly inspiring year for community service at Emmanuel. I am so proud of the way everyone has stepped up and have each been an incredible support to the environment, each other and the wider community. It has been inspiring to see Brew Dogs remain take-away cup free and the kitchen trying to remove single use cutlery and plates this semester. Thank you to everyone who has participated in, donated to and supported community service events throughout the year. I look forward to seeing what you are all up to next year on the EMC Community Facebook page!
