NESCol students and staff shine with Sparkle charity drive

January 10, 2022

NESCol has started the New Year by making the final donations from its festive celebrations to good causes throughout the region.

Sparkle, the College’s winter festival, featured a range of fun activities and charity initiatives as part of 12 Days of Giving.

Students and staff joined together to support a host of organisations in different ways.

Professional Cookery students and lecturers teamed up with Street Friends to prepare and distribute food to the homeless in Aberdeen whilst engineering and construction students and lecturers crafted Christmas-themed creations to be sold and raffled.

Food bank collections, sales and support for regional and national appeals were also at the heart of Sparkle as well as the annual Time to Shine Awards recognising members of the College community who went above and beyond in 2021.

The largest single donation was made to the Big Christmas Food Appeal, with £360 raised. A total of £255 was donated to StandAlone, £217 was raised for Aberdeen Care Experienced (ACE), £100 for Mission Christmas and £70 for AberNecessities. More than 25 bags of food were also collected for the Trussell Trust, the College’s food bank partner.

Alesia du Plessis, NESCol Associate Vice Principal for Curriculum and Student Experience, said: “Sparkle is a fantastic way to bring our College community together and it was embraced across our campuses. Our thanks go to all those who generously supported Sparkle this year and to the team that worked so hard to plan and deliver a fun and engaging festival.

“We’re proud to support so many great causes, not only by raising money and gathering donations but also by creating awareness of the fantastic work these organisations do.”